"Mihrdukht Aims her Arrow at the Ring," Folio from the Hamzanama (The Adventures of Hamza)

Artist and engraver Basawan Indian

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 693

This folio from the Hamzanama (Story of Hamza) depicts the famous archeress Mihrdukht shooting her arrow through a ring which has been suspended from the mouth of a golden bird placed at the top of a tall pole. Hamid, the son of Hamza, meets this challenge and wins her hand in marriage. The enchantment of the garden setting and dynamism of the skillful Persian princess convey the exciting narratives and lively style of the emergent Mughal school of painting in the late sixteenth century.

"Mihrdukht Aims her Arrow at the Ring," Folio from the Hamzanama (The Adventures of Hamza), Basawan (Indian, active ca. 1556–1600), Opaque color and gold on cotton cloth

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