Khawar-nama of Ibn Husam, Shiraz, c. 1480: Gabriel announces the Apotheosis of Ali
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Gray, Basil
Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
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Abstract
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The richly illustrated manuscript of the Khawar-nama of Ibn Husam, an epic life of the Shi'a Imam Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, the last of the imitations of the Shah-nama, shows a tendency to revert to the basic Persian inclination to symmetry and to decoration. The miniatures use bold colours to build up tapestry-like miniatures in which the principal figures stand out in epic splendour. It may be supposed that the circle for which it was produced was fervently Shi'a in sympathy and this is reflected in the fervid compositions. Clouds are quite unnaturalistic in colour as well as in shape, gold and blue in a slate-blue sky, for instance
and the picture plane is as opaque as in a tapestry. In the garden scene illustrated here the arrangement is purely formal and decorative. The water-course is superimposed on the trees and the figures on top of all, but the resulting scene is satisfactory as illustration as well as splendidly decorative. -- 7.25 x 8.625".
and the picture plane is as opaque as in a tapestry. In the garden scene illustrated here the arrangement is purely formal and decorative. The water-course is superimposed on the trees and the figures on top of all, but the resulting scene is satisfactory as illustration as well as splendidly decorative. -- 7.25 x 8.625".
Keywords
Mediaeval painting, paintings, miniatures, book scan
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Archives Series
Date created
1961
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This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.
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