"Isfandiyar's Fourth Course: He Slays a Sorceress", Folio 435v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

Author Abu'l Qasim Firdausi Iranian
 Painting attributed to Qasim ibn 'Ali Iranian
 Workshop director Aqa Mirak Iranian

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 462

The hero Isfandiyar performs a series of feats, or "courses," parallel to those of Rustam. In this scene, Isfandiyar has slain a sorceress, who lies bleeding in the foreground next to a mountain stream whose once-silver water has tarnished to black. The squat figures reflect Qasim ibn 'Ali’s grounding in Turkmen painting, while the dramatically piled rocks and clouds are elements that were shared by painters of both Turkmen Tabriz and Timurid Herat background.

"Isfandiyar's Fourth Course: He Slays a Sorceress", Folio 435v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp, Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus), Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper

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