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"Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon", Folio 434v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

Author Abu'l Qasim Firdausi Iranian
Painting attributed to Qasim ibn 'Ali Iranian
ca. 1530
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 462
This dramatic image illustrates the third of seven challenges, or courses, that Prince Isfandiyar underwent en route to freeing his sisters from captivity in Turan. Learning that he would encounter a dragon on his perilous path, Isfandiyar ordered a horse-drawn cart with a box in which he could hide and from which spears projected. Here, the dragon has appeared and is sucking the horses into its maw, soon to be impaled on the spears and slashed by Isfandiyar’s sword. The tightly coiled dragon slithering through the rocks and breathing fire lends drama and menace to the scene, which otherwise contains many elements associated with Turkmen painting, such as the writhing bare bushes and squat figures, competently rendered by Qasim ibn 'Ali, an artist from Shiraz who was active at the Safavid court in the second quarter of the sixteenth century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon", Folio 434v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp
  • Author: Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus)
  • Artist: Painting attributed to Qasim ibn 'Ali (Iranian, active ca. 1525–60)
  • Date: ca. 1530
  • Geography: Made in Iran, Tabriz
  • Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Painting:
    H. 11 in. (27.9 cm)
    W. 10 5/16 in. (26.2 cm)
    Page:
    H. 18 5/8 in. (47.3 cm)
    W. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm)
    Mat:
    H. 22 in. (55.9 cm)
    W. 16 in. (40.6 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Gift of Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 1970
  • Object Number: 1970.301.51
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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