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Fragment of Wall Painting with a Scene of Two Horsemen Slaying a Serpent

early 20th century
Not on view
This work, once believed to be a rare example of pre-Mongol painting, was recently shown to have been made with pigments containing modern components. Remarkably, the forger seems to have worked on an arch fragment and chose images evocative of stories in the Shahnama (Book of Kings), including horsemen slaying a snake. No comparable miniature painting is known from archaeological contexts or extant buildings.

Elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) detected the following modern pigments: emerald green, produced since 1814; chrome yellow, synthetized in the early 19th century; white baryte, used as extender since the late 18th century, and zinc white, produced since the late 18th century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Fragment of Wall Painting with a Scene of Two Horsemen Slaying a Serpent
  • Date: early 20th century
  • Geography: Attributed to Iran
  • Medium: Gypsum plaster; painted
  • Dimensions: H. 19 1/2 in. (49.5 cm)
    W. 23 1/4 in. (59.1 cm)
    Wt. 41 lbs. (18.6 kg)
  • Classification: Plaster
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1952
  • Object Number: 52.20.1
  • Curatorial Department: Islamic Art

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