This luxury pen-case is made from papier mâché with lacquer painting, a tradition inspired by Chinese lacquer.
Late period
The precision of the line and the attention to texture allow this drawing to stand on its own as a finished work.
Groom and Rider drawing
The luxurious space of the Damascus Room was ikely for an affluent family to host visitors. The opulent décor and poetic inscriptions were designed to make the space feel like a retreat from the bustling commercial center. Explore the masterpiece with Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The Damascus Room at The Metropolitan Museum ...
In this partly unfinished building, Persian master builders experimented with architectural and structural solutions later used in the construction of Samarkand, the capital of the Timurid Empire.
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
Explore the rich effects of a painting from an illustrated manuscript of the Shahnameh — or ‘Book of Kings’ — the national epic of Iran composed by poet Firdawsi around 1010.
Looking at Persian painting
Safavid nobles wrapped themselves in poetries of love, wine, and youth
Wine bearers in landscape, a Safavid textile
The anonymous figure depicted in this painting embodies the fashion of Isfahan, Iran’s capital city under the rule of Shah 'Abbas I
Riza-yi ‘Abbasi, portrait of a young page ...
The single page format of this painting shows the trend among seventeenth-century art patrons to collect particularly fine examples of drawing, painting or calligraphy on single pages
Mir Afzal of Tun, a reclining woman ...
Riza-yi ʿAbbasi is famous for his drawings of individual or paired figures on single pages
Riza-yi ʿAbbasi, Seated calligrapher
Likenesses of rulers and dignitaries played a significant role in diplomacy.
Portrait of Shah ‘Abbas I of Iran
Brilliantly painted manuscripts. Exquisitely detailed miniatures. Fine silks. Complex, ornate palaces. The art of the Safavids is simply magnificent.
The Safavids, an introduction
Producing this lush miniature involved many Persian artists—and likely some familiarity with Chinese sources.
The Court of Gayumars
The Islamic world extended from Spain to Indonesia, where Ottomans, Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals ruled.
Arts of the Islamic world: The later ...
After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the sultan repurposed this church, adding slender “pencil” minarets.
Hagia Sophia as a mosque
Under Akbar the Great, the Mughal style of painting blended Indian, Persian, and Western artistic traditions.
Illustration from the Akbarnama
The official seal of the sultan dissolves into a vibrating field of flowers, gold accents, and snaking blue lines.
Tughra (Official Signature) of Sultan Süleiman the ...
These tiny pieces of precious metal contain a wealth of information in their Persian and Arabic inscriptions.
Coins of faith and power at the ...
The sound of the fountain led guests into this 18th-century house, where a vibrant interior stimulated ear and eye.
Qa’a (The Damascus room)
This mosque was the crowning achievement of architect Sinan’s career and a trophy of Ottoman imperial grandeur.
Mimar Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
Unlike other of Sinan’s mosques, this one is covered with tiles, sits above shops, and is accessed from a stairway.
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
