Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2004 Painted Interiors from the Houghton Shahnameh Samantha Lauren Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES PAINTED INTERIORS FROM THE HOUGHTON SHAHNAMEH By SAMANTHA LAUREN A Thesis submitted to the Program in Asian Studies In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Art Degree Awarded Fall Semester, 2004 The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Samantha Lauren defended on August 19, 2004. Peter Garretson Professor Directing Thesis Jonathan Grant Committee Member Susan Lee Committee Member The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).(cid:133) iv Abstract (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).(cid:133)(cid:133).. v INTRODUCTION (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 1 I. PERSIAN WALL PAINTING FROM THE PRE-ISLAMIC TO (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133) 5 THE SAFAVID PERIOD II. THE SAFAVIDS (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 22 III. CLASSIFICATION AND TYPE A (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 35 IV. TYPE B (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)... 47 V. TYPE C (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133) 56 VI. TYPE D (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)... 65 VII. TYPE E (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133) 71 CONCLUSION (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)... 85 BIBLIOGRAPHY (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)... 115 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 119 iii LIST OF FIGURES 1. Folio 183 verso: Siyavush and Jarireh Wed (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133) 88 2. Folio 29 verso: Zahhak is Told of his Fate (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 89 3. Folio 185 verso: Siyavush and Farangis Wed (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 90 4. Folio 84 verso: Sinduhkt Comes to Sam Bearing Gifts (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 91 5. Folio 516 verso: Ardashir and the Slave Girl Gulnar (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 92 6. Folio 28 verso: The Nightmare of Zahhak (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 93 7. Folio 10 recto: Firdowsi Proves his Talents before Sultan Mahmud (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 94 8. Folio 65 verso: Zal before Manuchihr, Sam and Qaran (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 95 9. Folio 60 verso: Manuchihr Enthroned (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).(cid:133) 96 10. Folio 538 recto: The Coronation of Shapur (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).(cid:133) 97 11. Folio 201 recto: Piran and Kay Kavus before Afrasiyab (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133) 98 12. Folio 39 verso: Faridun(cid:146)s Envoy to Sarv: The First Interview (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133) 99 13. Folio 24 verso: The Court of Jamshid (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 100 14. Folio 658 verso: The Great Sage Questions Hormozd before Nushirvan (cid:133)... 101 15. Folio 50 verso: Manuchihr at the Court of Faridun (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).(cid:133) 102 16. Folio 183 verso: Siyavush Stands Accused by Sudabeh before Kay Kavus (cid:133) 103 17. Folio 202 verso: Rustam Blames Kay Kavus for the Slaying of Siyavush (cid:133).. 104 18. Folio 638 recto: Nushirvan Receives an Embassy from the King of Hind (cid:133). 105 19. Folio 36 verso: Faridun Strikes Down Zahhak (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 106 20. Folio 78 verso: Rudabeh before Mihrab (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133) 107 21. Folio 170 verso: Afrasiyab Announces the New Policy of Peace with Iran ... 108 22. Folio 171 verso: Siyavush Receives Gifts from Afrasiyab(cid:146)s Peace Envoy (cid:133) 109 23. Folio 242 recto: Kay Khusrow Orders Tus Recalled (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 110 24. Folio 26 verso: The Snakes of King Zahhak (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 111 25. Folio 40 verso: Faridun(cid:146)s Envoy to Sarv: The Second Interview (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 112 26. Map of Pre-Islamic Persia (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133).. 113 27. Map of Islamic Persia (cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133)(cid:133). 114 iv ABSTRACT The following study utilizes a 1981 reproduction of a ca.1525, Safavid version of the Persian national epic, the Shahnameh, to investigate the manuscript(cid:146)s numerous illustrations of painted interior design. Initial research focuses on the history of wall painting in Iranian culture from the ancient through the Safavid eras. The following section offers a brief history of the Safavids themselves, as well as an overview of the immediate cultural and artistic influences that combined to create their newly syncretized aesthetic. The body of the research concentrates on a proposed system of classification that allows each interior motif to be categorized as one of five basic types. Labeled A through E the master types are further divided into numerous subcategories. Through comparison with the interiors depicted in other illustrated manuscripts, the literary accounts of extinct murals, and the wall paintings of a few extant edifices, an attempt is made to trace each motif(cid:146)s stylistic origins and possible programmatic functions within the greater framework of Persian ornamental history. The manuscript(cid:146)s largest decorative category, type A, which includes highly stylized, vegetal tracery and medallions, is broken down into three subtypes. Resembling pointed arches or palmettes, the first subsect, A1, is proposed as a direct descendent of either mandorla or lotus leaf designs. The secondary and tertiary forms of motif type A are simply variations on the original design. In the former lacy or wave-like borders pull away from the edges of walls while in the latter a complete separation from the architectural elements results in independent compositions. Because all three versions of this motif are frequently depicted as a facet of the palatial wall dØcor seen in Il-Khanid, Timurid and Turkman manuscripts it is suggested that such ornamentation was an authentic component of medieval, Persian, interior design schemes. The B type images, the Shahnameh(cid:146)s least prevalent category, fall under the blanket categorization of islimi or arabesque, repetitive ivy and spiral patterns. Sub- sected into two lesser categories based on the rigidity of their composition, both B type motifs bear a striking similarity to known examples of contemporary tile work, such as v that seen in the remains of the fifteenth century Masjid i-Muzaffariya. Therefore it is argued that while the rigid B1 type is meant to represent the actual tile dØcor of local Tabriz interiors, the looser version represents a frescoed approximation of these popular yet expensive ceramic designs. Designs of the C type, which occur with only moderate frequency in Tahmasp(cid:146)s volume, are florals and foliates that exhibit an unmitigated degree of plasticity and balance. Of the three sub-types the first C1, is the simplest involving only stylized tufts of plant-life. The second type combines vegetals and vases while the third occurs with or without a vase but includes depictions of winged creatures. In the case of the first two styles it is suggested that the vegetal imagery symbolizes the rewards of the afterlife in a celestial garden of paradise. In the third type, the introduction of birds is proposed as a reference to the mystical Sufi epic the Mantiq al-Tayr. Stylistically, at least one folio of the C type is suggested as representative of haft rangi tile-work due to both its advanced chromatics and its early use of saz design. Found in relatively few folios the fourth category, type D, offers intensely natural, vegetal imagery that is proposed as another example of Elysian iconography. The designs of both sub-types, D1 and D2, are compared with the near identical dØcor of a group of Timurid Mausolea, complexes that have themselves been associated with the illustrations of a fourteenth century manuscript that references a particular version of the Zoroastrian creation myth. The secondary type, D2, which includes avian images, is proposed as yet another allusion to the Mantiq al-Tayr. The final motif, E, which is separated into five sub-categories consists of depictions of real and fantastic creatures. The primary type, which includes images of deer, jackals, monkeys and flight-bound birds is proposed as a visual citation to the Kalila wa Dimna tales, a set of moralizing fables translated from an Indian original. The E2 type animals (generally a lion and an ungulate) are discussed as representative of a standardized decorative pattern, the girift-o-gir, and suggested as an iconographic descendant of both Zoroastrian mythology and Sassanian astrological symbolism. The third type, E3, contains depictions of purely fabulous beasts most of which are attributed Far Eastern origins. The fourth type, the only human imagery found in the Shahnameh interiors, is proposed as a veritable copy of a mural known to have existed on the walls of vi Uzun Hasan(cid:146)s Hasht Behisht palace complex in Tabriz. The final E sub-type, which depicts winged angels on the palace interiors of two vilified Shahs, is proposed as a purely fanciful design likely the product of painter Sultan Muhammad(cid:146)s fervent Sufi convictions. Finally it is suggested that many of the Shahnameh(cid:146)s interior wall paintings exhibit motifs that pre-date the Mongolian invasions of the thirteenth century. While it is difficult to classify each of the myriad layers of meaning projected onto these images, a large number of the motifs appear to contain Zoroastrian, Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi religious symbolism as well as Soghdian and Sassanian secular references. In particular it is proposed that in many cases the Shahnameh(cid:146)s illustrations are a reliable indication of the interior wall paintings that decorated contemporaneous Turkman and Timurid palaces. vii INTRODUCTION The Shahnameh genre of manuscripts holds a storied position in the archives of Iranian culture. Literally translated as a book (nameh) of kings (shah), the tales contained within such works were originally disseminated through Persia(cid:146)s vigorous oral tradition. The popular legends focus on Iran(cid:146)s four great pre-Islamic empires: the largely mythical Pishdadian and Kayanian dynasties and the semi-historical reigns of the Ashkanians (the veritable Seleucids and Parthians) and the Sassanians. Although the earliest attempts at collating these fables occurred during the mid sixth century C.E. under the Sassanian emperor Khosrow I,1 it was not until the late tenth century that their codification was fully realized. During this period, a lyricist named Firdowsi was commissioned by the Ghaznavid, Sultan Mahmud to transcribe the quasi-mythical Persian history into (cid:147)a unified poetical work.(cid:148)2 Firdowsi(cid:146)s resulting opus, encompassing a staggering (cid:147)sixty thousand or so verses,(cid:148) is a massive volume, the length of which has been aptly described as exceeding that of the King James Bible.3 Due to the tales(cid:146) inherent capacity to be used as courtly propaganda, legitimating the regimes of exogenous groups, the Shahnameh quickly became a favorite subject for royal commissions. Although many versions of the Book of Kings were prepared over the course of Persian history, among these myriad productions only a few examples are regarded as masterpieces. While the text(cid:146)s earliest extant version dates back to the 1250(cid:146)s, the genre(cid:146)s first credible archetype, the Great Mongol Shahnameh, was not created until nearly a century later in the beginning of the 1300(cid:146)s.4 Often referred to as the Demotte manuscript in recognition of the art dealer who split up the leaves and sold them individually in order to maximize his profits, the 400-folio work was created in the Tabriz atelier, arguably for the Il-Khanid patron Giyath al- Din.5 Endorsed by scholars Blair and Grabar as (cid:147)the earliest surviving masterpiece of Persian painting,(cid:148)6 from the composition(cid:146)s original two-volume catalogue of two hundred color illustrations, only fifty-eight miniature paintings are in existence today.7 The paucity of complete manuscripts that remain available for modern study tends to be the rule rather than the exception. It is notable therefore that the facsimile of miniature paintings from another Shahnameh, one that is widely accepted as the supreme visual achievement of the Safavid era, is available in its entirety. This august, sixteenth century manuscript was formally 1 introduced to European scholars in 1903 when the Baron Edmond de Rothschild offered it for exhibition in a Parisian show of Islamic decorative arts.8 Scholars Bloom and Blair relate that a scant fifty six years later the work was sold to an American art dealer named Arthur Houghton who, in the spirit of Demotte a few years before him, dissected the volume into single folios that were auctioned off piecemeal in order to expand the seller(cid:146)s return. When Houghton died in the early 1990(cid:146)s the remaining pages (501 with text and 118 with paintings) were traded to the Iranian government in exchange for a De Kooning nude that the state theocracy deemed (cid:147)offensive,(cid:148) the result being that (cid:147)after 450 years much of this magnificent manuscript has returned to its country of origin.(cid:148)9 In light of the manuscript(cid:146)s callous treatment at the hands of both its European and American owners alike, the work is perhaps best referred to by its original pseudonym, the Shahnameh-yi Shah Tahmasp. Although the book was initially commissioned by the founder of the Safavid dynasty Shah Isma(cid:146)il, it is commonly eponymous for his son Tahmasp, the leader under whose aegis the majority of the book(cid:146)s approximately twenty five years of production took place. A two-volume work ostensibly similar in size to the Il-Khanid production from nearly 200 years before, the Safavid Shahnameh eclipsed its comparatively paltry predecessor by including 742 folios from which an unprecedented 258 leaves contain full-page miniature paintings.10 Viewed by many scholars as the culminative effort in the long history of the Book of Kings genre, between its seminal introduction to the European public in 1903 and its dissection in 1959, the miniatures from Tahmasp(cid:146)s Shahnameh were only briefly catalogued and spuriously studied by a few well-intentioned Western art historians. These negligible efforts might have been the only accounts available for modern research had not scholars Stuart Cary Welch and Martin Bernard Dickson undertaken the Herculean task of tracking down and duplicating each of the manuscript(cid:146)s 258 illustrations. Although the facsimile can be frustrating in its inelegant brown tone replication of the original polychrome illustrations, the authors compensate for this fact by supplementing their monochromatic miniatures with a tour de force investigation of the individual artists who worked in the Safavid Royal Library at the time of the Shahnameh production. This information in turn, is used to ascribe tentative authorship to each image. Welch and Dickson also focus on developing arguments regarding the book(cid:146)s stylistic origins by comparing its miniatures with a number of other contemporary documents such as Khamsas of 2