Late period

Masterpiece Moment - Damascus Room thumb — 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 ...

by Bank of America

Mausoleum to Koja Ahmad Yassaui — 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

by UNESCO

persian painting grid — 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.

Wine bearers in landscape, a Safavid textile

by Nader Sayadi

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 ...

by The British Museum

34198001 grid — 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 ...

by The British Museum

Rizaa-yi Abbasi grid — Riza-yi ʿAbbasi is famous for his drawings of individual or paired figures on single pages

Riza-yi ʿAbbasi, Seated calligrapher

by The British Museum

shah abbas grid — Likenesses of rulers and dignitaries played a significant role in diplomacy.

Portrait of Shah ‘Abbas I of Iran

by The British Museum

Shah Mosque, Isfahan, Iran, begun 1611 — Brilliantly painted manuscripts. Exquisitely detailed miniatures. Fine silks. Complex, ornate palaces. The art of the Safavids is simply magnificent.

The Court of Gayumars

by Dr. Nancy Demerdash, Dr. Filiz Çakir Phillip, Curator, Aga Khan Museum and Dr. Michael Chagnon, Curator, Aga Khan Museum

The Ardabil Carpet, Maqsud of Kashan, Persian: Safavid dynasty, silk warps and wefts with wool pile (25 million knots, 340 per sq. inch), 1539-40 C.E., Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan or Kirman, Iran (Victoria & Albert Museum) — The Islamic world extended from Spain to Indonesia, where Ottomans, Timurids, Safavids, and Mughals ruled.

Arts of the Islamic world: The later ...

by Glenna Barlow

Hagia Sophia as a mosque

by Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay and Dr. Steven Zucker

Illustration from the Akbarnama

by Katrina Klaasmeyer

Tughra (Official Signature) of Sultan Süleiman the ...

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

These tiny pieces of precious metal contain a wealth of information in their Persian and Arabic inscriptions.

Coins of faith and power at the ...
by The British Museum

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)
by Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay and Dr. Steven Zucker

This mosque was the crowning achievement of architect Sinan’s career and a trophy of Ottoman imperial grandeur.

Mimar Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
by Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay and Dr. Steven Zucker

Unlike other of Sinan’s mosques, this one is covered with tiles, sits above shops, and is accessed from a stairway.

Mimar Sinan, Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul
by Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay and Dr. Beth Harris

Two famous lovers meet in this miniature—as do Persian and European painting traditions.

Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing
by Corey Rice

This huge white-marble mausoleum is recognized the world over for its splendor, symmetry, and stunning gardens.

The Taj Mahal
by Roshna Kapadia

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