Hanging a man as a warning, Folio from a manuscript of Nigaristan

• Accession Number:AKM272.f206v
• Creator:Author: Ahmad b. Muhammad Ghaffari, Persian, died 1567 Scribe: Ahmad al-Shirazi
• Place:Iran, Shiraz (probably)
• Dimensions:38.7 cm × 25 cm × 6.4 cm
• Date:1573-74 CE/980 AH/AH 980
• Materials and Technique:Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper

• The miniature painting "Hanging a man as a warning" is from an intact manuscript of Kitab-i Nigaristan, a collection of anecdotes and historical incidents written in prose by the historian and scholar Ahmad Muhammad Ghaffari (1504–1567/68) of Kashan in 1551–2. This illustrated manuscript, dated 1573, was probably produced in a Shiraz workshop. 

   

  See AKM272 for more information about the manuscript and links to the other illustrations. 

    

Further Reading 

 
The image is divided into three horizonal layers: the lowest level consists of an assembly with a crowned figure at its centre; the middle level shows the façade of a brick and faience structure; and the top contains a portal or iwan whose balustrade is full of spectators. 
 
According to the text, this scene is set during the reign of Timurid sultan Uluġ Beg, who ruled in Transoxania and Khurasan from 1447 to 1449. During the power struggles among the Timurids, a siege of Herat takes place. During the siege, a man accused of opposing the Sultan is hanged, his body suspended upside down on the battlements of the city as a warning for others. 
 
The portal or iwan is formed by a crenellation, and it emphasizes the central axis of the illustration. A figure is shown hanging upside down from the balustrade. The spectators behind the balustrade wear helmets, while those in the courtyard wear turbans. The cypress trees piercing the pictorial frame are a consistent stylistic element in the Nigaristan. 
 
- Elika Palenzona-Djalili