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An Episode from the Story of the Sasanian King Khusrau and His Beloved Shirin, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami (1141–1209) (verso); Persian verses from a Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami (d. 1492) (recto)
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An Episode from the Story of the Sasanian King Khusrau and His Beloved Shirin, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami (1141–1209) (verso); Persian verses from a Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami (d. 1492) (recto)

1540–70 · opaque watercolor, gold, silver, and ink on paper; double-sided

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

The Khamsa is a collection of five narrative poems, one of which is dedicated to the romance of Khusrau Parviz (590–628), a Sasanian king of Iran, and Shirin, his beloved Armenian princess. The lovers are seated in a nocturnal landscape, indicated by the dark blue sky dotted with stars, painted with now tarnished silver. Shirin serves figs and pomegranates, symbolic of fertility, to Khusrau as attendants bring more figs and wine. Next to Shirin’s black horse, the musician at bottom right plays a tanbur , a long-necked, fretted lute.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineAn Episode from the Story of the Sasanian King Khusrau and His Beloved Shirin, from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami (1141–1209) (verso); Persian verses from a Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) of Jami (d. 1492) (recto), 1540–70. Iran, probably Shiraz, Safavid period (1501-1722). Opaque watercolor, gold, silver, and ink on paper; double-sided; sheet: 29.6 x 16.2 cm (11 5/8 x 6 3/8 in.); image: 21 x 13 cm (8 1/4 x 5 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1947.500
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