A Persian miniature (
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
: نگارگری ایرانی ''negârgari Irâni'') is a small
Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a ''
muraqqa
A Muraqqa ( tr, Murakka, ar, مورّقة, fa, مُرَقّع) is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter. The album ...
''. The techniques are broadly comparable to the
Western Medieval and
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
traditions of
miniatures in
illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
s. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums. Miniature painting became a significant
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
in
Persian art
Persian art or Iranian art () has one of the richest art heritages in world history and has been strong in many media including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and sculpture. At different times, influences f ...
in the 13th century, receiving
Chinese influence after the
Mongol conquests
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other
Islamic miniature traditions, principally the
Ottoman miniature
Ottoman miniature ( tr, Osmanlı minyatürü) or Turkish miniature was a Turkish art form in the Ottoman Empire, which can be linked to the Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences. It was a part of the Ottoman b ...
in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, and the
Mughal miniature
Mughal painting is a style of painting on paper confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums ( muraqqa), from the territory of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. It emerged from Persian miniature pai ...
in the
Indian sub-continent.
Persian art
Persian art or Iranian art () has one of the richest art heritages in world history and has been strong in many media including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and sculpture. At different times, influences f ...
under Islam
had never completely forbidden the human figure, and in the miniature tradition the depiction of figures, often in large numbers, is central. This was partly because the miniature is a private form, kept in a book or album and only shown to those the owner chooses. It was therefore possible to be more free than in wall paintings or other works seen by a wider audience. The
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
and other purely religious works are not known to have been illustrated in this way, though histories and other works of literature may include religiously related scenes, including those
depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, after 1500 usually without showing his face.
As well as the figurative scenes in miniatures, which this article concentrates on, there was a parallel style of non-figurative ornamental decoration which was found in borders and panels in miniature pages, and spaces at the start or end of a work or section, and often in whole pages acting as frontispieces. In
Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
this is referred to as "illumination", and manuscripts of the Quran and other religious books often included considerable number of illuminated pages. The designs reflected contemporary work in other media, in later periods being especially close to book-covers and
Persian carpet
A Persian carpet ( fa, فرش ایرانی, translit=farš-e irâni ) or Persian rug ( fa, قالی ایرانی, translit=qâli-ye irâni ),Savory, R., ''Carpets'',(Encyclopaedia Iranica); accessed January 30, 2007. also known as Iranian ...
s, and it is thought that many carpet designs were created by court artists and sent to the workshops in the provinces.
In later periods miniatures were increasingly created as single works to be included in albums called ''
muraqqa
A Muraqqa ( tr, Murakka, ar, مورّقة, fa, مُرَقّع) is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter. The album ...
'', rather than illustrated books. This allowed non-royal collectors to afford a representative sample of works from different styles and periods.
Style
The bright and pure colouring of the Persian miniature is one of its most striking features. Normally all the
pigment
A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...
s used are mineral-based ones which keep their bright colours very well if kept in proper conditions, the main exception being silver, mostly used to depict water, which will oxidize to a rough-edged black over time. The conventions of Persian miniatures changed slowly; faces are normally youthful and seen in three-quarters view, with a plump rounded lower face better suited to portraying typical Central Asian or Chinese features than those of most Persians. Lighting is even, without shadows or
chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...
. Walls and other surfaces are shown either frontally, or as at (to modern eyes) an angle of about 45 degrees, often giving the modern viewer the unintended impression that a building is (say) hexagonal in plan. Buildings are often shown in complex views, mixing interior views through windows or "cutaways" with exterior views of other parts of a facade. Costumes and architecture are always those of the time.
Many figures are often depicted, with those in the main scene normally rendered at the same size, and recession (depth in the picture space) indicated by placing more distant figures higher up in the space. More important figures may be somewhat larger than those around them, and battle scenes can be very crowded indeed. Great attention is paid to the background, whether of a landscape or buildings, and the detail and freshness with which plants and animals, the fabrics of tents, hangings or carpets, or tile patterns are shown is one of the great attractions of the form. The dress of figures is equally shown with great care, although artists understandably often avoid depicting the patterned cloth that many would have worn. Animals, especially the horses that very often appear, are mostly shown sideways on; even the love-stories that constitute much of the classic material illustrated are conducted largely in the saddle, as far as the prince-protagonist is concerned. Landscapes are very often mountainous (the plains that make up much of Persia are rarely attempted), this being indicated by a high undulating horizon, and outcrops of bare rock which, like the clouds in the normally small area of sky left above the landscape, are depicted in conventions derived from Chinese art. Even when a scene in a palace is shown, the viewpoint often appears to be from a point some metres in the air.
The earliest miniatures appeared unframed horizontally across the page in the middle of text, following Byzantine and Arabic precedents, but in the 14th century the vertical format was introduced, perhaps influenced by Chinese scroll-paintings. This is used in all the luxury manuscripts for the court that constitute the most famous Persian manuscripts, and the vertical format dictates many characteristics of the style.
![Saki - Reza Abbasi - Moraqqa’-e Golshan 1609 Golestan Palace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Saki_-_Reza_Abbasi_-_Moraqqa%E2%80%99-e_Golshan_1609_Golestan_Palace.jpg)
The miniatures normally occupy a full page, later sometimes spreading across two pages to regain a square or horizontal "landscape" format. There are often panels of text or captions inside the picture area, which is enclosed in a frame, eventually of several ruled lines with a broader band of gold or colour. The rest of the page is often decorated with dense designs of plants and animals in a muted ''
grisaille
Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...
'', often gold and brown; text pages without miniatures often also have such borders. In later manuscripts, elements of the miniature begin to expand beyond the frame, which may disappear on one side of the image, or be omitted completely.
Another later development was the album miniature, conceived as a single picture rather than a book illustration, though such images may be accompanied by short lyric poems. The withdrawal of Shah
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after t ...
from commissioning illustrated books in the 1540s probably encouraged artists to transfer to these cheaper works for a wider circle of patrons. Albums or ''
muraqqa
A Muraqqa ( tr, Murakka, ar, مورّقة, fa, مُرَقّع) is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter. The album ...
s'' were assembled by collectors with album miniatures, specimen pages of calligraphy, and miniatures taken from older books, to which border paintings were often added when they were remounted. Album miniatures usually showed a few figures on a larger scale, with less attention to the background, and tended to become drawings with some tints of coloured wash, rather than fully painted.
In the example at right the clothes are fully painted, and the background uses the gold grisaille style earlier reserved for marginal decoration, as in the miniature at the head of the article. Many were individual portraits, either of notable figures (but initially rarely portraits of rulers), or of idealized beautiful youths. Others were scenes of lovers in a garden or picnics. From about the middle of the 16th century these types of images became dominant, but they gradually declined in quality and originality and tended towards conventional prettiness and sentimentality.
Books were sometimes refurbished and added to after an interval of many years, adding or partly repainting miniatures, changing the border decoration, and making other changes, not all improvements. The ''Conference of the Birds'' miniature in the gallery below is an addition of 1600 to a manuscript of over a century earlier, and elements of the style appear to represent an effort to match the earlier miniatures in the book. The famous painting ''Princes of the House of Timur'' was first painted in 1550-55 in Persia for the exiled Mughal prince
Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northern ...
, who largely began the Mughal miniature tradition by taking back Persian miniaturists when he gained the throne. It was then twice updated in India (c.1605 and 1628) to show later generations of the royal house. The dimensions of the manuscripts covered a range not dissimilar to typical modern books, though with a more vertical ratio; many were as small as a modern paperback, others larger. Shah Tamasp's ''Shahnameh'' stood 47 cm high, and one exceptional ''Shahnameh'' from
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
of c. 1585 stood 53 cm high.
Artists and technique
![Mir Sayyid Ali 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Mir_Sayyid_Ali_2.jpg)
In the classic period artists were exclusively male, and normally grouped in workshops, of which the royal workshop (not necessarily in a single building) was much the most prestigious, recruiting talented artists from the
bazaar
A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...
workshops in the major cities. However the nature of the royal workshop remains unclear, as some manuscripts are recorded as being worked on in different cities, rulers often took artists with them on their travels, and at least some artists were able to work on private commissions. As in Europe, sons very often followed their father into the workshop, but boys showing talent from any background might be recruited; at least one notable painter was born a slave. There were some highly placed amateur artists, including
Shah Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...
(reigned 1524–1576), who was also one of the greatest patrons of miniatures. Persian artists were highly sought after by other Islamic courts, especially those of the
Ottoman and
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
s, whose own traditions of miniature were based on Persian painting but developed rather different styles.
The work was often divided between the main painter, who drew the outlines, and less senior painters who coloured in the drawing. In
Mughal miniature
Mughal painting is a style of painting on paper confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums ( muraqqa), from the territory of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. It emerged from Persian miniature pai ...
s at least, a third artist might do just the faces. Then there might be the border paintings; in most books using them these are by far the largest area of painted material as they occur on text pages as well. The miniatures in a book were often divided up between different artists, so that the best manuscripts represent an overview of the finest work of the period. The scribes or
calligraphers
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
were normally different people, on the whole regarded as having a rather higher status than the artists - their names are more likely to be noted in the manuscript.
Royal librarians probably played a significant role in managing the commissions; the extent of direct involvement by the ruler himself is normally unclear. The scribes wrote the main text first, leaving spaces for the miniatures, presumably having made a plan for these with the artist and the librarian. The book covers were also richly decorated for luxury manuscripts, and when they too have figurative scenes these presumably used drawings by the same artists who created the miniatures. Paper was the normal material for the pages, unlike the
vellum
Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anima ...
normally used in Europe for as long as the illuminated manuscript tradition lasted. The paper was highly polished, and when not given painted borders might be flecked with gold leaf.
A unique survival from the Timurid period, found "pasted inconspicuously" in a muraqqa in the
Topkapi Palace is thought to be a report to Baysunghur from his librarian. After a brief and high-flown introduction, "Petition from the most humble servants of the royal library, whose eyes are as expectant of the dust from the hooves of the regal steed as the ears of those who fast are for the cry of ''
Allahu akbar
Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
'' ..." it continues with very businesslike and detailed notes on what each of some twenty-five named artists, scribes and craftsmen has been up to over a period of perhaps a week: "Amir Khalil has finished the waves in two sea-scenes of the ''
Gulistan Gulistan, Golestan or Golastan ( fa, گلستان) means "flower land" in Persian language (''gol'' meaning "flower", and ''-stan'' or meaning "land").
It may refer to:
Places
Iran
"Golestan" most often refers to:
* Golestan province in nor ...
'' and will begin to apply colour. ... All the painters are working on painting and tinting seventy-five tent-poles .... Mawlana Ali is designing a frontispiece illumination for the ''Shahnama''. His eyes were sore for a few days." Apart from book arts, designs for tent-makers, tile-makers, woodwork and a saddle are mentioned, as is the progress of the "
begim's little chest".
History
![Demotte Shahname 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Demotte_Shahname_002.jpg)
The ancient Persian religion of
Manichaeism
Manichaeism (;
in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian Empire, Parthian ...
made considerable use of images; not only was the founding prophet
Mani
Mani may refer to:
Geography
* Maní, Casanare, a town and municipality in Casanare Department, Colombia
* Mani, Chad, a town and sub-prefecture in Chad
* Mani, Evros, a village in northeastern Greece
* Mani, Karnataka, a village in Dakshi ...
(c.216–276) a professional artist, at least according to later Islamic tradition, but one of the sacred books of the religion, the
Arzhang
The ''Arzhang'' ( fa, ارژنگ, translit=Aržang/; cop, Eikōn, italic=yes; xpr, dw bwngʾhyg ō bunɣāhīgitalic=yes, meaning "Worthy"), also known as the ''Book of Pictures'', was one of the holy books of Manichaeism. It was written an ...
, was illustrated by the prophet himself, whose illustrations (probably essentially cosmological diagrams rather than images with figures) were regarded as part of the sacred material and always copied with the text. Unfortunately, the religion was repressed strongly from the Sassanid era and onwards so that only tiny fragments of Manichean art survive. These no doubt influenced the continuing Persian tradition, but little can be said about how. It is also known that
Sassanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
palaces had wall-paintings, but only fragments of these have survived.
There are narrative scenes in pottery, though it is hard to judge how these relate to lost contemporary book painting. Recent scholarship has noted that, although surviving early examples are now uncommon, human figurative art was also a continuous tradition in Islamic lands in secular contexts (such as literature, science, and history); as early as the 9th century, such art flourished during the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
(c. 749-1258, across Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Mesopotamia, and Persia).
The great period of the Persian miniature began when Persia was ruled by a succession of foreign dynasties, who came from the east and north. The traumatic
Mongol invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...
of
1219 onwards established the
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
as a branch of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
, and despite the huge destruction of life and property, the new court had a galvanising effect on book painting, importing many Chinese works and probably artists, with their long-established tradition of narrative painting. The Ilkhanids continued to migrate between summer and winter quarters, which together with other travels for war, hunting and administration, made the portable form of the illustrated book the most suitable vehicle for painting, as it also was for mobile European medieval rulers. The
Great Mongol Shahnameh
The Great Mongol ''Shahnameh'', also known as the Demotte ''Shahnameh'' or Great Ilkhanid ''Shahnama'', is an illustrated manuscript of the ''Shahnameh'', the national epic of Greater Iran, probably dating to the 1330s. In its original form, whic ...
, now dispersed, is the outstanding manuscript of the period.
After 1335 the Ilkhanate split into several warring dynasties, all swept aside by the new invasion of
Timur
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
from 1381. He established the
Timurid dynasty
The Timurid dynasty ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( chg, , translit=Küregen, fa, , translit=Gūrkāniyān), was a Sunni Muslim dynasty or clan of Turco-Mongol originB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, O ...
, bringing a fresh wave of Chinese influence, who were replaced by the
Black Sheep Turkmen
The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...
in 1452, followed by the
White Sheep Turkmen
The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (Wh ...
from 1468, who were in turn replaced by the
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...
by 1501; they ruled until 1722. After a chaotic period
Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...
took control, but there was no long-lived dynasty until the
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty (; fa, دودمان قاجار ', az, Qacarlar ) was an IranianAbbas Amanat, ''The Pivot of the Universe: Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896'', I. B. Tauris, pp 2–3 royal dynasty of Turkic peoples ...
, who ruled from 1794 to 1925.
![Baysunghur's Shahname 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Baysunghur%27s_Shahname_001.jpg)
It was only in the 14th century that the practice began of commissioning illustrated copies of classic works of
Persian poetry
Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...
, above all the ''
Shahnameh
The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...
'' of
Ferdowsi
Abul-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi ( fa, ; 940 – 1019/1025 CE), also Firdawsi or Ferdowsi (), was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a sin ...
(940-1020) and the ''
Khamsa of Nizami
The ''Khamsa'' ( fa, خمسه, 'Quintet' or 'Quinary', from Arabic) or ''Panj Ganj'' ( fa, پنج گنج, 'Five Treasures') is the main and best known work of Nizami Ganjavi.
Description
The ''Khamsa'' is in five long narrative poems:
* '' Ma ...
'', which were to contain many of the finest miniatures. Previously book illustration, of works in both Arabic and Persian, had been concentrated in practical and scientific treatises, often following at several removes the Byzantine miniatures copied when ancient Greek books were translated. However a 14th-century flowering of Arabic illustrated literary manuscripts in Syria and Egypt collapsed at the end of the century, leaving Persia the undisputed leader in Islamic book illustration. Many of the best miniatures from early manuscripts were removed from their books in later centuries and transferred to albums, several of which are now in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
; this complicates tracing the art history of the period.
Miniatures from the Safavid and later periods are far more common than earlier ones, but although some prefer the simpler elegance of the early 15th and 16th centuries, most art historians agree in seeing a rise in quality up to the mid-16th century, culminating in a series of superb royal commissions by the Safavid court, such as the
Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp
The ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp ( fa, شاهنامه شاهطهماسب) or Houghton ''Shahnameh'' is one of the most famous illustrated manuscripts of the ''Shahnameh'', the national epic of Greater Iran, and a high point in the art of t ...
(or Houghton Shahnameh). There was a crisis in the 1540s when Shah
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after t ...
, previously a patron on a large scale, ceased to commission works, apparently losing interest in painting. Some of his artists went to the court of his nephew
Ibrahim Mirza
Prince Ibrahim Mirza, Solṭān Ebrāhīm Mīrzā, in full Abu'l Fat'h Sultan Ibrahim Mirza ( fa, ابوالفتح سلطان ابراهیم میرزا) (April 1540 – 23 February 1577) was a Persian prince of the Safavid dynasty, who was a favo ...
, governor of
Mashad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan Province and has a po ...
from 1556, where there was a brief flowering of painting until the Shah fell out with his nephew in 1565, including a ''
Haft Awrang
''Haft Awrang'' ( fa, هفت اورنگ, meaning "Seven Thrones") by the Persian people, Persian poet Jami is a classic of Persian literature composed some time between 1468 and 1485. Jami completed the work as seven books following a Mathnawi ...
'', the "Freer Jami". Other artists went to the Mughal court. After this the number of illustrated book manuscript commissions falls off, and the tradition falls into over-sophistication and decline.
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
in the north-west of Iran is the longest established centre of production, and
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
(then under Persian rule) was often important.
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
in the south, sometimes the capital of a sub-ruler, was a centre from the late 14th century, and
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...
, now in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, was important in the periods when it was controlled from Persia, especially when the Timurid prince
Baysonqor
Ghiyath ud-din Baysunghur, commonly known as Baysonqor or Baysongor, Baysonghor or (incorrectly) as Baysunqar, also called Sultan Bāysonḡor Bahādor Khan (1397 – 1433) was a prince from the house of Timurid dynasty, Timurids. He was known as ...
was governor in the 1420s; he was then the leading patron in Persia, commissioning the
Baysonghor Shahnameh
The Baysunghur ''Shahnameh'' ( fa, شاهنامه بایسُنغُری) is an illustrated manuscript of the ''Shahnameh'', the national epic of Greater Iran. The work on this manuscript was started in 1426 at the order of Baysunghur Mirza, the ...
and other works. Each centre developed its own style, which were largely reconciled and combined under the Safavids.
The schools of Herat, where the
Timurid Timurid refers to those descended from Timur (Tamerlane), a 14th-century conqueror:
* Timurid dynasty, a dynasty of Turco-Mongol lineage descended from Timur who established empires in Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent
** Timurid Empire of C ...
royal workshops usually were, had developed a style of classical restraint and elegance, and the painters of Tabriz, a more expressive and imaginative style. Tabriz was the former capital of the Turkmen rulers, and in the early
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
period the styles were gradually harmonized in works like the
Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp
The ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp ( fa, شاهنامه شاهطهماسب) or Houghton ''Shahnameh'' is one of the most famous illustrated manuscripts of the ''Shahnameh'', the national epic of Greater Iran, and a high point in the art of t ...
. But a famous unfinished miniature showing
Rustam
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place = Kabulistan
, death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ...
asleep, while his horse
Rakhsh
Rakhsh (in , meaning "luminous") is a wondrous stallion -the brave and faithful steed of the preeminent hero Rostam in the Persian national epic, ''Shahnameh'' by the poet Ferdowsi.
The color of Rakhsh is described as "rose leaves that have bee ...
fights off a lion, was probably made for this manuscript, but was never finished and bound in, perhaps because its vigorous Tabriz style did not please Tahmasp. It appears to be by Sultan Mohammad, whose later works in the manuscript show a style adapted to the court style of
Bizhad. It is now in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
Chinese influences
![Miraj by Sultan Muhammad](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Miraj_by_Sultan_Muhammad.jpg)
Before Chinese influence was introduced, figures were tied to the ground line and included "backgrounds of solid color", or in "clear accordance with indigenous artistic traditions". However, once influenced by the Chinese, Persian painters gained much more freedom through the Chinese traditions of "unrestricted space and infinite planes". Much of the Chinese influence in Persian art is probably indirect, transmitted through Central Asia. There appear to be no Persian miniatures that are clearly the work of a Chinese artist or one trained in China itself. The most prestigious Chinese painting tradition, of ''literati''
landscape painting
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...
on scrolls, has little influence; instead the closest parallels are with wall-paintings and motifs such as clouds and dragons found in Chinese pottery, textiles, and other decorative arts. The format and composition of the Persian miniature received strong influence from Chinese paintings.
The Ilkhanid rulers did not convert to Islam for several decades, meanwhile remaining
Tantric Buddhist
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
s or Christians (usually
Nestorian
Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...
s). While very few traces now remain, Buddhist and Christian images were probably easily available to Persian artists at this period. Especially in Ilkhanid and Timurid
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
-
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
mythological miniatures, mythical beasts were portrayed in a style close to the Chinese
qilin
The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of on ...
,
fenghuang
''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...
(
phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
),
bixie
Pixiu (; Old Chinese ( ZS) *''bi-qʰu'') is a Chinese mythical hybrid creature. Pixiu are considered powerful protectors of feng shui practitioners, and resemble strong, winged lions. A Pixiu is an earth and sea variation, particularly an inf ...
and
Chinese dragon
The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...
, though they have a much more aggressive character in Islamic art, and are often seen fighting each other or natural beasts.
Prominent Persian miniaturists
The workshop tradition and division of labour within both an individual miniature and a book, as described above, complicates the attribution of paintings. Some are inscribed with the name of the artist, sometimes as part of the picture itself, for example as if painted on tiles in a building, but more often as a note added on the page or elsewhere; where and when being often uncertain. Because of the nature of the works, literary and historical references to artists, even if they are relied upon, usually do not enable specific paintings to be identified, though there are exceptions. The reputation of
Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād Herawī, or Behzād, the leading miniaturist of the late Timurid era, and founder of the Safavid school, remained supreme in the
Persianate
A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity.
The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of Is ...
world, and at least some of his work, and style, can be identified with a degree of confidence, despite a good deal of continuing scholarly debate.
Sultan Mohammed
Sultan Muhammad was a Persian painter at the Safavid Iran, Safavid court at Tabriz under Shah Ismail I () and Shah Tahmasp I (). He served as the director of Shah Ismail I, Ismail's artists’ workshop and as the first project director of the ...
,
Mir Sayyid Ali
Mir Sayyid Ali (Tabriz, 1510 – 1572) was a Persian miniature painter who was a leading artist of Persian miniatures before working under the Mughal dynasty in India, where he became one of the artists responsible for developing the style of Mugh ...
, and
Aqa Mirak
Aqa Mirak (fl. 1520 – Qazvin, 1576) was a Persian illustrator and painter.
Life
Aqa Mirak was a painter, purveyor and companion to the Safavid shah Tahmasp I and was well known in contemporary circles. Initially living in Tabriz, he traveled a ...
, were leading painters of the next generation, the Safavid culmination of the classic style, whose attributed works are found together in several manuscripts.
Abd al-Samad
'Abd al-Ṣamad or Khwaja 'Abd-us-Ṣamad was a 16th century painter of Persian miniatures who moved to India and became one of the founding masters of the Mughal miniature tradition, and later the holder of a number of senior administrative rol ...
was one of the most successful Persian painters recruited by the
Mughal Emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
s to work in India. In the next generation,
Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, رضا عباسی in Persian, usually Reza Abbasi also Aqa Reza (see below) or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī ( – 1635) was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid ...
worked in the Late Safavid period producing mostly album miniatures, and his style was continued by many later painters. In the 19th century, the miniatures of Abu'l-Hasan Khan Gaffari (
Sani ol molk
Abu'l-Hasan Khan Ghaffari Kashani (1814–1866) ( fa, ابوالحسن غفاری) was an Iranian painter, miniature and lacquer artist, and book illustrator. When he became the Chief Court Painter, he also became known as Sani al Mulk ( fa, ص ...
), active in
Qajar
Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...
Persia, showed originality, naturalism, and technical perfection.
Mahmoud Farshchian
Mahmoud Farshchian ( fa, محمود فرشچیان, translit=Mahmud Faršciyân; born 24 January 1930) is an Iranian painter and educator. He was a master of Persian miniature painting.
His paintings have been hosted by several museums and exhibi ...
is a contemporary miniaturist whose style has broadened the scope of this art.
Gallery
File:SchoolOfTabriz3.jpg, Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
, c.1370, '' Abduction of Zal by the Simurgh
Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...
''
File:Bahram Gur Kills the Dragoon. Firdawsi, Shahnama 1371.(Shiraz, Muzaffarid dyn.) Topkapi Palace Library, Istanbul.jpg, ''Bahram Gur
Bahram V (also spelled Wahram V or Warahran V; pal, 𐭥𐭫𐭧𐭫𐭠𐭭), also known as Bahram Gor (New Persian: , "Bahram the onager") was the Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') from 420 to 438.
The son of the incumbent Sasanian sha ...
Kills the Dragon'', in a ''Shahnameh
The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...
'' of 1371, Shiraz, with a very Chinese dragon
File:Big-Head Shahname.jpg, Page from the Turkmen "Big-head Shahnameh", Gilan, 1494
File:Behzad advice ascetic.jpg, Behzad's ''Advice of the Ascetic'', c. 1500-1550
File:Bihhzad 001.jpg, Bath-house scene by Behzād
File:Sleeping Rustam.jpg, Rustam
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place = Kabulistan
, death_cause = With the conspiracy of his half-brother Shaghad, he fell into a wel ...
sleeps, while his horse Rakhsh
Rakhsh (in , meaning "luminous") is a wondrous stallion -the brave and faithful steed of the preeminent hero Rostam in the Persian national epic, ''Shahnameh'' by the poet Ferdowsi.
The color of Rakhsh is described as "rose leaves that have bee ...
fends off a tiger. Probably an early work by Sultan Mohammed
Sultan Muhammad was a Persian painter at the Safavid Iran, Safavid court at Tabriz under Shah Ismail I () and Shah Tahmasp I (). He served as the director of Shah Ismail I, Ismail's artists’ workshop and as the first project director of the ...
, 1515–20
File:FOLIO FROM THE SHAHNAMEH OF SHAH TAHMASP, ATTRIBUTED TO AQA MIRAK, CIRCA 1525-35, Sotheby,s.jpg, ''Fereydun
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates =
, burial_place ...
in the guise of a dragon tests his sons", from the ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp, attributed to Aqa Mirak
Aqa Mirak (fl. 1520 – Qazvin, 1576) was a Persian illustrator and painter.
Life
Aqa Mirak was a painter, purveyor and companion to the Safavid shah Tahmasp I and was well known in contemporary circles. Initially living in Tabriz, he traveled a ...
, circa 1525-35
File:Nizami - Khusraw discovers Shirin bathing in a pool.jpg, Khusraw discovers Shirin bathing in a pool, a favourite scene, here from 1548
Image:Divan von Hafiz.jpg, Poetry, wine and gardens are common elements in later works - 1585
File:The Mantiq al-tair.jpg, Scene from Attar
Attar or Attoor ( ar, عطار, ) may refer to:
People
*Attar (name)
*Fariduddin Attar, 12th-century Persian poet
Places
*Attar (Madhya Pradesh), the location of Attar railway station, Madhya Pradesh, India
*Attar, Iran, a village in Razavi Kho ...
's '' Conference of the Birds'', painted c. 1600
File:Riza-yi-Abbasi 008.jpg, ''Youth reading'', 1625-6 by Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi, Riza yi-Abbasi or Reza-e Abbasi, رضا عباسی in Persian, usually Reza Abbasi also Aqa Reza (see below) or Āqā Riżā Kāshānī ( – 1635) was the leading Persian miniaturist of the Isfahan School during the later Safavid ...
File:Georgian prince by Reza Abbasi.jpg, ''Prince Muhammad-Beik of Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
'' - Reza Abbasi, 1620
File:Thousand_and_One_Nights_21.jpg, Illustration of ''One Thousand and One Nights'' by Sani ol molk
Abu'l-Hasan Khan Ghaffari Kashani (1814–1866) ( fa, ابوالحسن غفاری) was an Iranian painter, miniature and lacquer artist, and book illustrator. When he became the Chief Court Painter, he also became known as Sani al Mulk ( fa, ص ...
, Iran, 1853
In later culture
The French painter
Henri Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...
said he was inspired by Persian miniatures. He visited the Munich 1910 exhibition of Persian miniatures and carpets, and noted that:
"the Persian miniatures showed me the possibility of my sensations. That art had devices to suggest a greater space, a really plastic space. It helped me to get away from intimate painting."
Persian miniatures are mentioned in the novel ''
My Name Is Red
''My Name Is Red'' ( tr, Benim Adım Kırmızı) is a 1998 Turkish novel by writer Orhan Pamuk translated into English by Erdağ Göknar in 2001. Pamuk would later receive the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. The novel, concerning miniaturists ...
'' by
Orhan Pamuk
Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lan ...
.
See also
*
Persian culture
The culture of Iran () or culture of PersiaYarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) is among the most influential in the world. Iran, also known as Persia, is widely considered to be one of the cradles of civilization. Due t ...
*
List of Persian painters
Classical era Classical Persian painter
* Kamaleddin Behzad
* Reza Abbasi
* Farrukh Beg
* Mihr 'Ali
Modern era
A
* Aghapour, Shahla
* Aghdashloo, Aydin
* Alikhanzadeh, Samira (1967– ), painter
* Alivandi, Bahram
* Arabshahi, Massoud ...
*
Persianate
A Persianate society is a society that is based on or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art and/or identity.
The term "Persianate" is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson. In his 1974 book, ''The Venture of Is ...
Notes
References
*Balafrej, Lamia. ''The Making of the Artist in Late Timurid Painting'', Edinburgh University Press, 2019,
*Brend, Barbara. ''Islamic art'', Harvard University Press, 1991, , 9780674468665
*Canby, Sheila R. (ed) (2009). ''Shah Abbas; The Remaking of Iran'', 2009, British Museum Press,
*Canby, Sheila R. (1993), ''Persian Painting'', 1993, British Museum Press,
*Crill, Rosemary, and Jarilwala, Kapil. ''The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860'', 2010, National Portrait Gallery Publications, , 978 1855144095
*("Gray 1930") Gray, Basil, ''Persian Painting'', Ernest Benn, London, 1930
*("Gray 1976") Gray, Basil, and others in Jones, Dalu & Michell, George, (eds); ''The Arts of Islam'',
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...
, 1976,
*Gruber, Christiane, ''Representations of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic painting'', in Gulru Necipoglu, Karen Leal eds.,
Muqarnas
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...
, Volume 26, 2009, BRILL, , 9789004175891
google books*
Meri, Josef W. ''Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia'', 2005, Psychology Press,
*
Rawson, Jessica, ''Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon'', 1984, British Museum Publications,
*"OAO", Sims, Eleanor, and others.
Oxford Art Online
Oxford Art Online is an Oxford University Press online gateway into art research, which was launched in 2008. It provides access to several online art reference works, including Grove Art Online (originally published in 1996 in a print version, ''T ...
(subscription required), ''Islamic art, §III, 4: Painted book illustration'' (v) ''c 1250–c 1500'', and (vi) ''c 1500–c 1900'', accessed Jan 21, 2011
*Roxburgh, David J. 2000. ''The Study of Painting and the Arts of the Book'', in
Muqarnas
Muqarnas ( ar, مقرنص; fa, مقرنس), also known in Iranian architecture as Ahoopāy ( fa, آهوپای) and in Iberian architecture as Mocárabe, is a form of ornamented vaulting in Islamic architecture. It is the archetypal form of I ...
, XVII, BRILL.
*
Thackston, Wheeler McIntosh. ''Album prefaces and other documents on the history of calligraphers and painters'', Volume 10 of Studies and sources in Islamic art and architecture: Supplements to Muqarnas, BRILL, 2001, ,
*Titley, Norah M. ''Persian Miniature Painting, and Its Influence on the Art of Turkey and India: the British Library collections'', 1983, University of Texas Press,
*
Welch, Stuart Cary. ''Royal Persian Manuscripts'', Thames & Hudson, 1976,
Further reading
*
Grabar, Oleg, ''Mostly Miniatures: An Introduction to Persian Painting'', 2001, Princeton University Press, ,
* Hillenbrand, Robert. ''Shahnama: the visual language of the Persian book of kings'', Ashgate Publishing, 2004, ,
*
Robinson, B. W., ''Islamic painting and the arts of the book'', London, Faber and Faber, 1976
*
Robinson, B. W., ''Persian paintings in the India Office Library, a descriptive catalogue'', London, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1976
*Schmitz, Barbara, and Desai, Ziyaud-Din A. ''Mughal and Persian paintings and illustrated manuscripts in the Raza Library, Rampur'', 2006, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts,
*"Iranica",
Welch, Stuart Cary, and others
Art in Iranvii. Islamic pre-Safavid, ix. Safavid to Qajar Periods, in
Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encycl ...
(online, accessed January 27, 2011)
*
*
*
External links
The ''Shahnameh'' Project Cambridge University - huge database of miniatures
A brief history of Persian Miniature by Katy Kianush. Iran Chamber SocietyChester Beatty Library Image Gallerymixed Islamic images
Video on Behzadfrom the Asia Society, US
{{DEFAULTSORT:Persian Miniature
Iranian art
Persian art
Miniature painting
Illuminated manuscripts
Islamic illuminated manuscripts
Islamic art
Persian handicrafts
Islamic arts of the book
Iranian inventions
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity