Kay Kaus Captured by the Divs
author
Ferdowsi
(Tus, Iran, 935 CE)
illuminator
Unknown
Date14th century
Place MadeShiraz, Fars province, Iran, Middle East
MediumGold and colors on paper
Dimensions14.5 x 17 cm (5 11/16 x 6 11/16 in.)
ClassificationsManuscripts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP19w54
eMuseum ID718716
EmbARK ObjectID13430
TMS Source ID2363
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis illumination depicts a scene from the "Shah-nameh" or "Book of Kings," the great Persian epic written in the 10th century by the poet Ferdowsi. Kay Kaus, the brave but foolhardy king of the Iranians, traveled with his army to the enchanted regions of Mazandaran, which was ruled by the evil Divs (demons) under their great white leader. The king’s capture and subsequent blinding by the Divs serve as the background to a series of adventures encountered by Rustam, chief of the king’s knights, in his attempt to rescue the king. This miniature, preserved with the entire page of text intact, shows the capture of the unfortunate Shah by the White Div, while one Div and the king's army stand by.
BibliographyNotesBerlin Photographic Co. Berlin Photographic Co. Catalogue of an Exhibition of Muhammadan Miniature Painting (New York, 22 Febuary 1914), p. 13, no. 15. (entitled "Djinn Fighting with a King on Horseback"; Persia or Transaxiana, beginning of the 15th century, Mongol style)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 168, no. 5. (entitled "A Djinn and a King"; as from Persia or Transoxiana, 15th century, Mongol style)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), p. 148. (entitled "A Djinn and a King"; as from Persia, Transylviania, or Transoxiana, 15th century, Mongol style)
Thomas C. Witherspoon et al. Islamic Art from the Collection of Edwin Binney 3rd. Exh. cat. (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institute, 1966), p. 25. (as from an unidentified manuscript of the Shah Nameh of Firdausi; as Shiraz (?), 1st third of the 15th century; as from the same manuscript as cat. no. 29; lists other known leaves)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 109-10, no. 48. (entitled "Kay Kaus Captured by the Divs"; as a leaf from the Shah-nameh of Firdausi; as Persian, Shiraz (?), mid 15th century)
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 512-15.
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), p. 36.
Benedict Cuddon. "A Field Pioneered by Amateurs: The Collecting and Display of Islamic Art in Early Twentieth-Century Boston." Muqarnas (2013), pp. 17-18.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 168, no. 5. (entitled "A Djinn and a King"; as from Persia or Transoxiana, 15th century, Mongol style)
George L. Stout. Treasures from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1969), p. 148. (entitled "A Djinn and a King"; as from Persia, Transylviania, or Transoxiana, 15th century, Mongol style)
Thomas C. Witherspoon et al. Islamic Art from the Collection of Edwin Binney 3rd. Exh. cat. (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institute, 1966), p. 25. (as from an unidentified manuscript of the Shah Nameh of Firdausi; as Shiraz (?), 1st third of the 15th century; as from the same manuscript as cat. no. 29; lists other known leaves)
Yasuko Horioka et al. Oriental and Islamic Art: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1975), pp. 109-10, no. 48. (entitled "Kay Kaus Captured by the Divs"; as a leaf from the Shah-nameh of Firdausi; as Persian, Shiraz (?), mid 15th century)
Rollin van N. Hadley (ed.). The Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardner 1887-1924 (Boston, 1987), pp. 512-15.
Alan Chong and Noriko Murai. Journeys East: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Asia. Exh. cat. (Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2009), p. 36.
Benedict Cuddon. "A Field Pioneered by Amateurs: The Collecting and Display of Islamic Art in Early Twentieth-Century Boston." Muqarnas (2013), pp. 17-18.
ProvenanceNotesFrom the same unidentified manuscript of the Shahnameh as a second leaf, museum no. P19w55.
Formerly in the collection of a certain Reza Khan.
Collection of German-American medievalist Rudolf Meyer-Riefstahl (1880-1936), Paris by 1914.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the Berlin Photographic Company, New York for $550 on 24 February 1914, through the American art historian Bernard Berenson (1865-1959).
Formerly in the collection of a certain Reza Khan.
Collection of German-American medievalist Rudolf Meyer-Riefstahl (1880-1936), Paris by 1914.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the Berlin Photographic Company, New York for $550 on 24 February 1914, through the American art historian Bernard Berenson (1865-1959).
Scuola del Santissimo Sacramento di San Geminiano
1504-1799
Object/Provenance
