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Kay Khusraw Marches to Gudarz’s Rescue,
Big Head Shahnama, Iran, 1494
David Collection Museum, Copenhagen
Miniature from a copy of Firdawsi’s Shahnama. “Kay Khusraw Marches to Gudarz’s Rescue”
Iran, Lahijan; 1494
Leaf: 35 × 24.3 cm
The ways the figures are depicted in this miniature justify the manuscript’s designation: the “Big Head Shahnama.”
Kay Khusraw (with a whip), his page [Peyk] on foot (with an axe and a pointed hat), and the heavily armed Iranian cavalry and infantry are painted in a highly monumental and original manner. The cropping of the picture is unconventional, whereas the bold and at times garish colors are typical of the entire manuscript and to some extent of Turkmen painting in general.
The miniature is filled with realistic details – weapons, shields, armor, and various types of helmets – but also has more special features, such as the pennant painted with a dragon and the dragon ensign with the inscription “Allah,” reversed.
Inv. no. 42/2006
Source: David Collection, Copenhagen, Denmark
