The "Shahnama," popularly known as the national epic of Iran, celebrates its millennial anniversary this year. Written by Persian poet Abu'l Qasim Firdawsi around the turn of the last millennium, the "Shahnama" records global history, starting with the creation of the world and ending with the Muslim conquest of Persia. The lines of the poem provide a rich textile of characters and plots that has given birth to some of the most beautiful manuscript illumination from the region, with images as colorful and complex as the story itself.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) celebrates the birthday of this important work with "Romantic Interludes: Women in Firdawsi's Shahnama," which features illuminations from copies of the "Shahnama." It is one of three exhibits; the other two, currently at Harvard Art Museum and Houghton Library, explore different facets of the "Shahnama." The MFA exhibit marks the anniversary of the poem by looking more closely at the "Shahnama's" rich cast of female characters, drawing attention to the diverse roles of women in the epic poem, from lovers to diplomats to villains.
The images are divided into three categories: encounters between women and lovers; meetings, trysts and marriages; and the actions and adventures of powerful women. The individual illuminations provide the viewer with a brief look at these characters, but despite this, the expressive and detailed nature of the illuminations allows us to reconstruct the dynamic between women and their surroundings.
An illumination from the first section — encounters between women and lovers — illustrates this depth. The illumination, "Meeting of Zal and Rudaba" is taken from an Iranian version of the "Shahnama" produced during the Inju period in 1341. Executed in ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, the image shows the female heroine — Rudaba, a daughter of the King of Kabul — greeting her warrior-lover Zal. She stands on the parapets of a castle, looking down at Zal, who rides in on horseback from the right, accompanied by a servant. The illumination is rendered in simple lines highlighted with traces of red and gold leaf, and special attention is given to the ornately patterned costumes of the figures. Rudaba and Zal are perfectly matched in the image, Rudaba looking down at Zal whose position and gaze mirrors hers. The image does not illustrate a hierarchy but a matched pair, each engaging in the other's gaze equally.
An example of a more sinister image of a woman is explored in the second section, meetings, trysts and marriages. The illumination, "Shirin Greets Khusraw Returning from Hunt," is taken from a Safavid period manuscript produced in the late 16th century. Again executed in ink, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper, it is an opulent image full of pattern and color. It shows Shirin, a Christian princess, whom the Prince Khusraw took as his lover but was later forced to abandon, attempting to win back the prince's affections. Her attendant, standing next to her, pours something out of a dish onto the ground below. Our eye follows this path to the figure of Prince Khusraw, who sits astride his horse. The Prince's entourage of men on horseback occupies the right side of the page and is finely draw in sensitive colors.
Shirin's pleadings for the attention of Khusraw are almost lost in the melee of pattern and color, but the artist manages to maintain the dialogue between the lovers with the path formed by the pouring attendant. Shirin eventually marries Prince Khusraw — against his advisors' wishes — and she proceeds to manipulate him, murder a rival wife and finally commit suicide. Even in this early moment in her story, the illumination successfully conveys the power Shirin has over the prince.
The final section — the actions and adventures of powerful women — features an image of the mythical Bilqis, otherwise known as the Queen of Sheba. The folio, "Court of Bilqis," is from another Safavid period manuscript, this time from the third quarter of the 16th century, again executed in opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper. It is an image of a mythical landscape. Bilqis sits enthroned on a magnificent dais in a room that opens onto the surrounding landscape. Female attendants and entertainers surround her, and she is the center of all the action in the image. Bilqis reigns supreme in this female world as the ruler of a beautiful and well-ordered realm. On her right, though, a demon sneaks into the image, potentially disrupting Bilqis' peaceful reign. The theme of paradise lost is featured prominently in the "Shahnama," and the creation of the world starts with the disruption of paradise.
"Romantic Interludes: Women in Firdawsi's Shahnama" provides an interesting look at some of the female characters in the epic poem. The beautifully executed and detailed representations in the illuminations often supersedes the text itself — and viewers will find a complex narrative in all of the images. The female characters support and expand the dynamic narrative created by these amazing illuminations.
