SAFAVID IRAN, CIRCA 1600

Ordered by his father Isfandiyar to bring Rustam to him in chains, Bahman spies the great hero of the Iran from atop a mountain. Fearful of Rustam’s strength and wishing to avoid confronting him in direct combat, Bahman dislodges a boulder and hurls it down the mountainside at the unsuspecting hero. Despite the concerned shouts of his brothers, Rustam does not move from roasting his onager and instead sticks out a leg to calmly brush the oncoming missile aside. The painting clearly draws from the same scene in the famous Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp (ca. 1522-40), sold in these Rooms, 31 March 2022, lot 41. This painting can be attributed to the reign of Shah Abbas (1588-1629) based on the size of the characters and their turbans. A related, but slightly later painting of the scene is in a manuscript in the Freer Gallery of Art (F1907.279).