Buzurjmihr Masters the Game of Chess: From the so-called First Small Shahnama (Book of Kings), ca. 1300–1325
Northwestern Iran or Baghdad
Ink, colors, gold, and silver on paper
Technical Glossary
Northwestern Iran or Baghdad
Ink, colors, gold, and silver on paper
7 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. (19 x 13.2 cm)
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1934 (34.24.1)
The text of the Shahnama has its own version of how the game of chess was introduced into Iran from India. In order to avoid paying tribute to the Sasanians, the rajah of Hind (India) sent an envoy challenging the Iranian ruler to figure out how this game was played. The clever vizier Buzurjmihr secured the tribute for his king by solving the problem. The Iranians are dressed in Mongol costume, whereas the erudite vizier wears Arab-style tunic and turban. The Indian envoy, all alone among the Iranians as if underscoring his defeat at the game, is typically represented as a dark-skinned man wearing baggy clothes and a loose turban.
