Two armed warriors walking in front of a group of brightly dressed men who are raising their fingers to their lips in astonishment. They are walking in a pink mountainous field with a text box with two lines at the top of the painting and the bottom.
AKM280.40, Shah Ramin and His Companions before the Marvellous City of Dar ul-Bekam (The Palace of Fulfilled Desire), fol.145r

© The Aga Khan Museum

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Shah Ramin and His Companions before the Marvellous City of Dar ul-Bekam (The Palace of Fulfilled Desire)
Folio from the manuscript of Tuhfet ul-Leta'if (Curious and Witty Gifts)
  • Accession Number:AKM280.40
  • Creator:‘Ali b. Naqib Hamza
  • Place:Turkey
  • Dimensions:23.7 x 14.2 cm
  • Date:1593–1594
  • Materials and Technique:opaque watercolour, ink, and gold on paper

  • Ottoman emperor Sultan Murad III (r. 1574–95) commissioned this unique manuscript, which relates various tales of the lovers Shah Ramin, son and heir of King Ardashir, and Mah-Pervin, daughter of the King’s vizier.

Further Reading

 

Here, Shah Ramin and his companions first lay eyes on an enchanted fortress. Raising their fingers to their lips in astonishment, they regard its four immense towers carrying guardians of the city: four metal knights, each of whom wields a weapon and rides a fantastic steed—lion, elephant, horse, or unicorn. Unbeknownst to Shah Ramin, the mouths of these knights will emit a flood of water when he opens the citadel’s gates.

 

References
Graves, Margaret S. and Benoît Junod, eds. Architecture in Islamic Arts: Treasures of the Aga Khan Museum. Geneva: Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2011, 210–11. ISBN: 9780987846303

Note: This online resource is reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis. We are committed to improving this information and will revise and update knowledge about this object as it becomes available.

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