An Episode from the Story of the Sasanian King Khusrau and His Beloved Shirin, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami (1141–1209) (verso); Persian verses from a Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami (d. 1492) (recto)

1540–70

An Episode from the Story of the Sasanian King Khusrau and His Beloved Shirin, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami (1141–1209) (verso); Persian verses from a Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami (d. 1492) (recto), 1540–70. Iran, probably Shiraz, Safavid period (1501-1722). Opaque watercolor, gold, silver, and ink on paper; double-sided; sheet: 29.6 x 16.2 cm (11 5/8 x 6 3/8 in.); image: 21 x 13 cm (8 1/4 x 5 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1947.500 Khusrau’s turban has the anachronistic baton worn by Safavid royalty and the egret feather, an emblem of nobility instituted by the Mongols in the 1200s.