Folio from a Shahnama, The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great)


The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great), folio from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Il-Khanid dynasty, Tabriz, Iran), c. 1330, ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper, 57.6 x 39.7 cm (Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment, F1938.3). Speakers: Dr. Massumeh Farhad, Chief Curator and The Ebrahimi Family Curator of Persian, Arab, and Turkish Art, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Steven Zucker.


Additional resources:

This folio at the Freer Gallery of Art

A Shahnama at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin


Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:

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Cite this page as: Dr. Massumeh Farhad, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Folio from a Shahnama, The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great)," in Smarthistory, July 26, 2020, accessed March 19, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/arches-shahnama-bier-of-iskandar/.