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"Gushtasp Slays the Rhino-Wolf", Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)

Author Abu'l Qasim Firdausi Iranian
ca. 1330–40
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 455
Gushtasp volunteered to go to the forest to slay a horned wolf as large as an elephant. The hero's steed was ripped apart by the monster's horn, and Gushtasp, on foot, dispatched the rhino-wolf with his sword. The prominent mountainous setting has a close parallel in the frontispiece of a poetic anthology compiled in Isfahan and in the painting style of southern Iran.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Gushtasp Slays the Rhino-Wolf", Folio from a Shahnama (Book of Kings)
  • Author: Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus)
  • Date: ca. 1330–40
  • Geography: Attributed to Iran, probably Isfahan
  • Medium: Ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper
  • Dimensions: Painting: H. 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
    W. 4 5/16 in. (10.9 cm)
    Page: H. 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm)
    W. 5 5/16 in. (13.5 cm)
    Mat: H. 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm)
    W. 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm)
  • Classification: Codices
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Monroe C. Gutman, 1974
  • Object Number: 1974.290.23
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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