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The Art of the Timurid Period (ca. 1370–1507)

• 
  Bowl, 15th century; Timurid
  Iran or Central Asia
  Earthenware, underglaze-painted; H. 3 in. (7.6 cm), Diam. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
  Gift of V. Everit Macy, 1932 (32.33)
  
• 
  Page from a Poetic Anthology of Works by Nizami and Others, dated 1411; Timurid
  Calligraphy by Mahmud al-Husaini
  Iran (Shiraz)
  Ink, colors, and gold on paper; H. 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm), W. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
  Gift of Alexander Smith Cochran, 1913 (13.228.19)
  
• 
  Qur'an of Ibrahim Sultan, dated 1427; Timurid
  Iran (Shiraz)
  Ink, colors, and gold on paper; H. of page 8 in. (20.3 cm), W. 5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
  Gift of Alexander Smith Cochran, 1913 (13.228.1)
  
• 
  Haft Paikar (Seven Portraits) of the Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami, Illustrated detached folios, ca. 1430; Timurid
  Nizami (Ilyas Abu Muhammad Nizam al-Din of Ganj) (probably 1141–1217), Author; Maulana Azhar, Calligrapher
  Iranian; Made in Afghanistan
  Ink, colors, and gold on paper; Page size: 11 x 7 in. (27.9 x 17.8 cm)
  Gift of Alexander Smith Cochran, 1913 (13.228.13)
  
• 
  Garden Scene, Aq Quyunlu period (1396–1508), ca. 1430
  Iran, possibly Tabriz
  Opaque watercolor and gold on undyed silk; H. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm), W. 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm)
  Cora Timken Burnett Collection of Persian Miniatures and Other Persian Art Objects, Bequest of Cora Timken Burnett, 1956 (57.51.24)
  
• 

  Laila and Majnun at School: Page from the Khamsa of Nizami (Quintet of Nizami), A.H. 835 /1431–32 A.D.
  Artist: possibly Mir Khalil; calligrapher: Ja'far
  Herat, present-day Afghanistan
  Ink, opaque watercolors, and gold on paper; 12.37 x 9 in. (31.3 x 22.9 cm)
  Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1994 (1994.232.4)

• 
  Dagger hilt, ca. 1450; Timurid
  Iranian; Attributed to Samarqand, Uzbekistan
  Greenish black nephrite; H. 2 in. (5.1 cm), W. 1 1/5 in. (3 cm), L. 4 in. (10.2 cm)
  Gift of Heber R. Bishop, 1902 (02.18.765)
  
• 
  Tile from a squinch, Timurid period (1370–1507), second half of 14th century
  Present-day Uzbekistan, Samarqand
  Stonepaste; carved and glazed; H. 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm), W. 8 5/8 in. (21.9 cm), D. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)
  The Grinnell Collection, Bequest of William Milne Grinnell, 1920 (20.120.189)
  
• 
  Bowl, Timurid period (1370–1507), second half of the 15th century
  Iran, probably Tabriz
  Stonepaste; painted in black under turquoise glaze, incised (Kubachi ware); Diam. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm), H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
  Mr. and Mrs. Isaac D. Fletcher Collection, Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917 (17.120.70)
  
• 
  Fragment from a Qur’an manuscript, ca. 1400; Timurid
  Calligraphy attributed to ^cUmar Aqta^c
  Central Asia (probably Samarqand)
  Ink, colors, and gold on paper; H. 17 5/16 in. (44 cm), W. 38 1/4 in. (97.2 cm)
  Anonymous Gift, 1972 (1972.279)
  
• 
  Architectural tile with partial inscription, Timurid period (1370–1507), second half of 14th century
  Present-day Uzbekistan
  Stonepaste; carved and glazed; 14 3/16 x 11 x 2 15/16 in. (36 x 28 x 7.5 cm)
  Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts and Elaine Rosenberg Gift, 2006 (2006.274)
  
• 

  The Son Who Mourned His Father: Folio from the Mantiq al-tair (The Language of the Birds) of Farid al-Din 'Attar, Timurid period (1370–1507), dated A.H. 892 / A.D. 1487
  Present-day Afghanistan, Herat
  Opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper; page: H. 13 in. (33 cm), W. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1963 (63.210.35)

• 
  Carved door panel, Timurid period (1370–1507), late 15th century
  Present-day Uzbekistan, Samarqand
  Cypress; carved, traces of paint; H. 82 in. (208.3 cm), Gr. H. 88 1/2 in. (224.8 cm), W. 30 3/4 in. (78.1 cm), D. 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1923 (23.67.7)
  
• 
  Double page from a Divan (Anthology) of Sultan Husain Baiqara, 1500; Timurid
  Calligraphy by Sultan ^cAli Mashhadi
  Afghanistan (Herat)
  Ink, colors, and gold on paper; H. (each leaf) 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm), W. 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)
  Purchase, Richard S. Perkins and Margaret Mushekian Gifts, 1982 (1982.120.1)
  

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The Timurids were the final great dynasty to emerge from the Central Asian steppe. In 1370, the eponymous founder, Timur (Tamerlane), who belonged to a Turko-Mongol tribe settled in Transoxiana, became master of this province and established Samarqand as his capital. Within thirty-five years, he subjugated all of Central Asia, greater Iran, and Iraq, as well as parts of southern Russia and the Indian subcontinent. To the west, Timurid forces defeated the Mamluk army in Syria and that of the Ottomans at Ankara (1400–2). In 1405, while preparing to invade China, Timur died. The vast empire he carved proved to be difficult to keep; his son and successor, Shahrukh (r. 1405–47), barely managed to maintain the empire's boundaries, and subsequent Timurid princes sought to establish their own kingdoms, weakening the empire with internal strife. Eventually only Khorasan and Transoxiana remained Timurid, and during the remaining years of the dynasty, these were ruled by separate branches of the Timurid family.

Timurid rulers were sympathetic to Persian culture and lured artists, architects, and men of letters who would contribute to their high court culture.

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (3)

• 
• 
• 

Timelines (12)

• Anatolia and the Caucasus, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Anatolia and the Caucasus, 1400–1600 a.d.
• Central and North Asia, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Central and North Asia, 1400–1600 a.d.
• Egypt, 1400–1600 a.d.
• Iran, 1000–1400 a.d.
• Iran, 1400–1600 a.d.
• Iraq, 1400–1600 a.d.
• South Asia, 1400–1600 a.d.
• South Asia: North, 1000–1400 a.d.
• The Eastern Mediterranean, 1000–1400 a.d.
• The Eastern Mediterranean, 1400–1600 a.d.

Primary Thematic Essays (3)

• The Art of the Mamluk Period (1250–1517)
• The Art of the Ottomans before 1600
• The Nature of Islamic Art

Other Thematic Essays (12)

• Birth of Islam
• Europe and the Islamic World, 1600-1800
• Jain Manuscript Painting
• Jain Sculpture
• List of Rulers of the Islamic World
• Musical Instruments of the Indian Subcontinent
• Shah ^cAbbas and the Arts of Isfahan
• The Mantiq al-Tayr of 1487
• The Art of the Mughals before 1600 A.D.
• The Art of the Safavids before 1600
• The Metropolitan Museum's Excavations at Nishapur
• The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp

Maps (2)

• West Asia, 1400-1600 A.D.
• World, 1400-1600 A.D.

Index Terms (22)

Art Movement/Style

• Mamluk Art in the Later Islamic Period
• Mughal Art in the Later Islamic Period
• Ottoman Art in the Later Islamic Period
• Safavid Art in the Later Islamic Period
• Timurid Art in the Later Islamic Period

Artist

• ^cUmar Aqta^c (Central Asian, active late 14th–early 15th century)
• Ja’far (Persian, active 1412–1431)
• Mahmud al–Husaini (Iranian, active early 15th century)
• Maulana Azhar (Iranian, first half of 15th century)
• Sultan ^cAli Mashhadi (Afghani, active late 15th–early 16th century [d. 1519])

Geography/Place

• Central and North Asia
• Islamic World
• Iran
• Iran

Material and Technique

• Gold Leaf
• Painting in Ink on Paper from South and Southeast Asia
• Painting in Watercolor from South and Southeast Asia

Object

• Doorway/portal

Subject Matter/Theme

• Liturgical Books
• Persian Poetry
• Love
• Islam

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By bringing craftsmen from different conquered lands to his capital in Samarqand, Timur initiated one of the most brilliant periods in Islamic art. Timurid art and architecture provided inspiration to lands stretching from Anatolia to India. Though Timur's extensive empire itself was relatively short-lived, his descendants continued to rule over Transoxiana as leading patrons of Islamic art. Through their patronage, the eastern Islamic world became a prominent cultural center, with Herat, the new Timurid capital, as its focal point. Timurid rulers were sympathetic to Persian culture and lured artists, architects, and men of letters who would contribute to their high court culture. Some of these rulers were also great patrons of the arts of the book, commissioning manuscripts that were copied, compiled, and illustrated in their libraries. Due to the flourishing of manuscript illumination and illustration, the Herat school is often regarded as the apogee of Persian painting. The Timurid period saw great achievements in other luxury arts, such as metalwork and jade carving. This cultural efflorescence found its ultimate expression at the court of Sultan Husain Baiqara (r. 1470–1506), the last effective Timurid ruler.




Many Timurid princes were also prodigious builders—religious institutions and foundations such as mosques, madrasas, khanqahs (convents), and Sufi shrines were the main beneficiaries of their building programs. Major architectural commissions from Timur's lifetime include the Aq Saray palace (Shahr-i Sabz, ca. 1379–96); the shrine of Ahmad Yasavi (Turkestan City, ca. 1397); Timur's congregational mosque (Samarqand, ca. 1398–1405), popularly known as the mosque of Bibi Khanum after his wife, who built a madrasa next to it; and the Gur-i Amir (Samarqand, ca. 1400–1404), Timur's burial place. Trademarks of the Timurid style were monumental scale, multiple minarets, polychromy tilework, and large bulbous double domes. The Timurid period also witnessed women as active patrons of architecture. Along with their immediate successors, the Shaibanids, the Timurid cultural tradition was also partly carried on by the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires.



Suzan Yalman Department of Education, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Based on original work by Linda Komaroff

Citation Yalman, Suzan. "The Art of the Timurid Period (ca. 1370–1507)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/timu/hd_timu.htm (October 2002) Further Reading Golombek, Lisa, and Maria Subtelny, eds. Timurid Art and Culture: Iran and Central Asia in the Fifteenth Century. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1992. Lentz, Thomas W., and Glenn D. Lowry Timur and the Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture in the Fifteenth Century. Exhibition catalogue.. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989. Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Komaroff, Linda "Pen-Case and Candlestick: Two Sources for the Development of Persian Inlaid Metalwork." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 23 (1988). JSTOR | PDF Jenkins, Marilyn "Islamic Pottery: A Brief History." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 40, no. 4 (Spring, 1983). JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs "Director’s Note" PDF "Introduction" PDF Ettinghausen, Richard, and Marie Lukens Swietochowski "Islamic Painting." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 36, no. 2 (Autumn, 1978). JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs "Director’s Note" PDF "Introduction" PDF Ettinghausen, Richard "Islamic Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 33, no. 1 (Spring, 1975). JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs "Director’s Note" PDF Lukens, Marie G. "The Language of the Birds: The Fifteenth-Century Miniatures." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 25, no. 9 (May, 1967). JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs "Foreword" PDF Dimand, Maurice Sven "New Accessions of Islamic Art." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 16, no. 8 (April, 1958). JSTOR | PDF