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Curators' Choices: 9 of 27
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"The Funeral of Isfandiyar," leaf from the Great Mongol Shahnamah, ca. 1330s, Iran (probably Tabriz). Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1933 (33.70)
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This miniature illustrates the funeral of one of the great prince-heroes of the epic Shahnamah—among the most frequently illustrated works of literature in Persian culture—slain by the poem's most popular warrior-hero, Rustam. A number of the surviving miniatures from this particular manuscript illustrated scenes of death or mourning. The deaths are ultimately the result of fate but, at a deeper level, they are linked to the ambitions, betrayals, intrigues, sacrifices, and loyalties that are inexorably bound to the role of rulers.
Location: Gallery 4B, Islamic Art, second floor
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