Rustam lifts Qeloun from his saddle with his spear in battle

Rustam lifts Qeloun from his saddle with his spear in battle

Shiraz, Safavid period, 16th century and Qajar, mid-19th century

Illustrated folio from a Shahnama or Book of Kings by Ferdowsi, painted in gouache with gold highlights, calligraphed in nasta'liq in black ink on four columns, with stencilled gold margins. Framed under glass. Sight 36 x 21.6 cm This battle scene is based on Safavid pictorial canons, but the faces of the characters have been repainted, notably the paladin Rustam, in the guise of the Qajar ruler Fatih-Ali Shah with his long beard. This pictorial practice of repainting faces to suit the taste of the time was once the prerogative of artists in Mughal India. An illustration from a Shahnameh of Firdowsi, depicting Rustam lifts Qeloun from his saddle with his spear in battle, Shiraz, Safavid period, 16th century and Qajar, mid-19th century