Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Plate with a hunting scene from the tale of Bahram Gur and Azadeh, 5th century; Sasanian period
    Iran
    Silver, mercury gilding

    Diam. 7.9 in. (20.1 cm)
    Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1994 (1994.402)

    The great Iranian epic the Shahnama, or Book of Kings, as recorded by Firdausi in the late tenth to early eleventh century, includes a tale of the Sasanian king Bahram V (r. 420–38), who was challenged to feats of archery by his favorite lyre player, Azadeh. With great skill, Bahram "Gur" (Wild Ass) shot an arrow that removed the horns of a male gazelle, transforming his appearance into that of a female, and shot two arrows into the head of a female gazelle, transforming her appearance into that of a male. The story became a favorite theme in the arts of Islam but was unknown on works of Sasanian date until the appearance of this gilt-silver plate.

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  • "Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 1994–1995," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 53, no. 2 (Autumn, 1995).
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  • Plate with a hunting scene from the tale of Bahram Gur and Azadeh, 5th century; Sasanian period
    Iran
    Silver, mercury gilding

    Diam. 7.9 in. (20.1 cm)
    Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1994 (1994.402)