Persiana/arts

"Art of the Hunt"



From the page:
The Shahnameh (Book of Kings), completed by Ferdowsi in 1010, is an account in verse of Iran's glorious history, a national epic. This painting, Kay Khusraw Reviews His Army--of ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, measuring 14 2/3 by 9 1/2 inches--is from a manuscript copy of the Shahnameh made in Shiraz in the Fars province of Iran in 1561-62. The poem is much concerned with themes of heroism, courage, and royal legitimacy, and hunting narratives are frequent. In a composition full of animation, the painter added elements not in Ferdowsi's text to illustrate the complementary nature of hunting and warfare because both confirmed the legitimacy of Kay Khusraw, an exemplar of a just leader. Atop his white elephant, he reviews his troops before they depart for battle. The whiteness of the elephant .. is allegorical, "but light-colored elephants were the highest prize in the royal stable."




[...] a falcon carried by the falconer (above, left) on his delightfully dappled horse, a hound, and a cheetah wearing a green cape (above, right). Hounds and falcons often hunted in concert. The falcon would select and stoop onto the quarry and the hounds would bring it down.