Abu'l Qasim Firdausi | "Zal Consults the Magi", Folio 73v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

Title: "Zal Consults the Magi", Folio 73v 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 Sultan Muhammad (Iranian, active first half 16th century) , assisted by 'Abd al-'Aziz

Workshop director: Sultan Muhammad (Iranian, active first half 16th century)

Date: ca. 1530–35

Geography: Made in Iran, Tabriz

Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper

Dimensions: Painting:
H. 11 1/16 in. (28.1 cm)
W. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)
Entire Page:
H. 18 9/16 in. (47.1 cm)
W. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm)

Classification: Codices

Credit Line: Gift of Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 1970

Accession Number: 1970.301.8

Zal Consults the Magi

This miniature belongs to the celebrated Shahnama made for the second ruler of the Safavid dynasty, Shah Tahmasp. The complete manuscript contains an unprecedented 258 miniatures, and was worked on for fifteen to twenty yeaars by the leading artists of the day.

The youthful Zal has lost his heart to a princess descended from a tyrant-king whose memory is loathsome to the shah and to Zal's father Sam. In his dilemma, Zal consults his wise men. The magi counsel Zal to write a letter to his father, whose wisdom is greater than their own. Judging from the doltish expression and the abject demeanor of the figure in the foreground, no doubt painted by Sultan Muhammad (who designed the picture), with his eye for humor, one could well appreciate the need for an outside source of advice. This painter also would seem to be responsible for the three young courtiers to the left of the throne, while it is probable that his assistant painted the rest. The vibrantly rich yet harmonious play and contrast of colors seems to have been a gift that Sultan Muhammad was able to instill in his cohorts.

Marie lukens Swietochowski in [Berlin 1981]

Inscription: In Persian in nasta’liq script, verses from the Shāhnama of Ferdowsī:
گفتار اندر خواب دیدن سام نریمان
The story of Nariman's dream of Sam

(Abu’l-Qasim Feardowsi,The Shāhnāmeh (The Book of Kings), ed, Djalal Khalqi- Muṭlagh, Mazda publishers in association with Bibliotheca Persica, Costa Mesa, California and New York, 1988, vol. 1, p. 202).

(A. Ghouchani, 2011)

Shah Tahmasp, Iran (until 1568; gifted to Selim II); Sultan Selim II (Turkish), Istanbul (from 1568); Sultan Selim III, Istanbul (by 1800); Baron Edmond James de Rothschild (French), Paris (by 1903–d. 1934); his son, Baron Maurice de Rothschild, Paris and Geneva (1934–d. 1957); his son, Baron Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris and Geneva (1957–59); [ Stiebel Ltd., New York, until 1959; sold to Houghton]; Arthur A. Houghton Jr., New York (1959–70; gifted to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A King's Book of Kings: Persian Miniatures from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama of 1528," May 4–December 31, 1972, no catalog.

Berlin. Museum für Islamische Kunst, Pergamonmuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. "The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the M.M.A.," June 15, 1981–August 8, 1981, no. 73.

Musée du Louvre. "Le Chant du Monde : L'Art de l'Iran Safavide," October 1, 2007–January 7, 2008, no. 22.

Migeon, Gaston. "Exposition des Arts Musulmans au Musee des Arts Decoratifs." Les Arts no. 16 (1903).

Levy, Ruben, ed. The Epic of the Kings : Shah-nama, the National Epic of Persia, by Ferdowski. UNESCO collection of representative works: Persian heritage series; [no. 3]. London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1967.

Welch, Stuart Cary. A King's Book of Kings: the Shah-nameh of Shah Tahmasp. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. pp. 132–35, ill. pp. 133–35, folio 73v (color, b/w).

"Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York." In The Arts of Islam. Berlin, 1981. no. 73, pp. 184–85, ill. p. 185 (color).

Dickson, Martin, and Stuart Cary Welch. The Houghton Shahnameh. Vol. vols. I & II. Cambridge, Mass. and London, England: Harvard University Press, 1981. no. 60, vol. II, ill. pl. 60.

Melikian-Chirvani, Assadullah. "L'Art de l' Iran Safavide 1501–1736." In Le Chant du Monde. Paris: Musée du Louvre, 2007. no. 22, pp. 188–89, ill. p. 189 (color).

Canby, Sheila R. The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp : The Persian Book of Kings. Madrid, 2011. p. 80, ill. folio 73v (color).

Canby, Sheila R. The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp : The Persian Book of Kings. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. p. 122, ill. fol. 73v (color).