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Illustration from the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp I
Bahrain Qur Pins the Coupling Onagers.
The figures wear early 16th century Persian dress.


A larger image of Bahram Gur Pins the Coupling Onagers. Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp I, c.1530–35.

"Bahram Gur Pins the Coupling Onagers", Folio 568r from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

Author: Abu'l Qasim Firdausi (935–1020)
Artist: Painting attributed to Mir Sayyid 'Ali (active ca. 1530–75)
Object Name: Folio from an illustrated manuscript
Date: ca. 1530–35
Geography: Made in Iran, Tabriz
Medium: Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
Dimensions: Painting: H. 11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm)
W. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm)
Page: H. 18 9/16 in. (47.1 cm)
W. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm)
Mat: H. 22 in. (55.9 cm)
W. 16 in. (40.6 cm)
Classification: Codices
Accession Number: 1970.301.62
One day, Shah Bahram and a large party of horsemen were hunting in a plain overrun with onagers, or wild asses. Letting fly an arrow at a buck mounting his mate, Bahram pinned them together and earned the nickname Bahram Gur, or "Onagers" Bahram. Distinguished for his meticulous attention to detail, Mir Sayyid 'Ali had been raised in the Safavid artists’ atelier under the tutelage of his father, Mir Musavvir, the second director of Shah Tahmasp’s Shahnama project. The simurgh on Bahram Gur’s saddlecloth and intricate designs on his quiver and saddle are typical of Mir Sayyid 'Ali’s work.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1970.301.62