Courtiers marvel at two conjoint twins, Folio from a manuscript of Nigaristan

• Accession Number:AKM272.f234r
• 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 "Courtiers marvel at two conjoint twins" 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 miniature is divided into five sections. The text field, however, takes up the largest part of the folio. The scene depicted on the left fills up the whole height of the folio. The scene takes place either in a courtyard or on the street, where there is also a façade. The main scene occurs in this section. In the middle of the tiled courtyard, a pair of naked Siamese twins are attached together at the back. They are surrounded by women who are gazing at them. More women observe from the window in the tiled and patterned back wall. 
 
At the level of the courtyard one can see a piece of wall with the same pattern as the back wall. A man is standing on the threshold of its door. The last, right section of the illustration shows another interior with the same pattern of the back wall. This room is very simply decorated and its back wall is simply tiled. On the right, a man in a blue robe with red sleeves and a white belt showing underneath kneels on the floor. In front of him are two bowls in which fire is burning.  
 
The simultaneous depiction of two views—an interior scene and the exterior of the same room or building—is typical of the Nigaristan. 
 
- Elika Palenzona-Djalili 
 
 
References 
Eleanor Sims. Peerless Images: Persian Painting and Its Sources. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002. ISBN:9780300090383