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Arts of the Islamic World 640 to now

  • Browse this content
  • A beginner’s guide
    • Introduction to Islam
    • About chronological periods
    • Arts of the Islamic world
    • The Qur’an
    • Adorning the Qur’an
    • Gold in the Qur’an
    • Illumination of the Qur’an
    • The Five Pillars of Islam
    • Islamic pilgrimages and sacred spaces
    • Hajj
    • The Kaaba
    • Stories of the modern pilgrimage
    • The complex geometry of Islamic design
    • Introduction to mosque architecture
    • Common types of mosque architecture
    • Pre-Islamic Arabia
    • Pilgrimage souvenirs
  • Early period
    • Browse this content
    • Arts of the Islamic world: The early period
    • Mosaics in the early Islamic world
    • Paintings in the early Islamic world
    • The Qur’an and the development of Arabic scripts between the 7th and 12th centuries
    • The Samanid Mausoleum, Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
    • Umayyad
      • The Umayyads, an introduction
      • The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra)
      • The Great Mosque of Damascus
    • Abbasid
      • Arts of the Abbasid Caliphate
      • Samarra, a palatial city
    • The Islamic West
      • The vibrant visual cultures of the Islamic West, an introduction
      • The Great Mosque of Córdoba
      • The Mosque of Bāb al-Mardūm (the Church of Santa Cruz), Toledo
      • The Great Mosque of Kairouan
      • Kairouan (from UNESCO)
  • Medieval period
    • Browse this content
    • Arts of the Islamic world: The medieval period
    • Folio from a Qur’an
    • Ghaznavid
      • Dado Panel, Courtyard of the Royal Palace of Mas’ud III
    • Fatimid
      • The Ben Ezra Synagogue, Fustat, Egypt
      • Rock crystal ewer, San Marco
      • Gold pendant with inset enamel decoration
    • Seljuq
      • The Great Mosque (or Masjid-e Jameh) of Isfahan
      • Two Royal Figures
      • Artist, scribe, and poet: Abu Zayd and 12th-century Iranian ceramics
    • Ilkhanid
      • Folio from a Shahnama, The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great)
      • Bahram Gur Fights the Karg (Horned Wolf)
      • Bahram Gur in a Peasant’s House
      • Mihrab from Isfahan (Iran)
    • Mamluk
      • Mohammed ibn al-Zain, Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis)
      • Mamluk Qur’an
      • Mamluk bindings
      • Madrasa and Friday Mosque of Sultan Hasan, Cairo
      • A glass lamp: illuminating sultan Hassan’s mosque and madrasa
      • A Mamluk candlestick base
      • Aleppo
    • Sultanates of South Asia
      • The Qutb complex and early Sultanate architecture
      • Sultanate art and architecture, an introduction
    • The Islamic West
      • Pyxis of al-Mughira
      • Khalaf, Pyxis
      • The Alhambra
      • Bifolium from the Pink Qu’ran
      • Conservation: The Nasrid plasterwork collection at the V&A
      • Coronation Mantle
  • Later period
    • Browse this content
    • Arts of the Islamic world: The later period
    • Introduction to the court carpets of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires
    • A Qur’an manuscript from coastal East Africa
    • Ottoman
      • The rise of the Ottoman Empire
      • Muradiye Mosque
      • Prayer carpet with triple-arch design
      • Mimar Sinan
        • Şehzade Mosque, Istanbul
        • Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
        • Mosque of Selim II, Edirne
        • Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul
      • Hagia Sophia as a mosque
      • The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
      • Spherical Hanging Ornament (Iznik)
      • Iznik ewer
      • Tughra (Official Signature) of Sultan Süleiman the Magnificent from Istanbul
      • Topkapı Palace tiles
      • Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, Jobar (Syria)
      • Bayt Farhi, a Jewish house in Damascus
      • Qa’a (The Damascus room)
      • Photograph of Abdülhamid II
    • Timurid
      • Timur’s entry into Samarkand, page from the Zafarnama
      • Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
      • Samarkand, crossroad of cultures
    • Safavid
      • The Safavids, an introduction
      • The Ardabil Carpet
      • Looking at Persian painting
      • The Court of Gayumars
      • Wine bearers in landscape, a Safavid textile
      • Riza-yi ‘Abbasi
        • Portrait of a young page reading
        • Seated calligrapher
      • Mir Afzal of Tun, a reclining woman and her lapdog
      • Groom and Rider drawing
      • The Ardashirnama: a Judeo-Persian manuscript
      • Divination Bowl with Inscriptions and Zodiac Signs
    • Mughal
      • The Mughal painting tradition: an introduction
      • Exploring Color in Mughal Paintings
      • Illustration from the Akbarnama
      • Humayun’s tomb
      • The Taj Mahal
      • Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
      • Portrait of Shah ‘Abbas I of Iran
      • Shah Jahan’s portrait, emeralds, and the exotic at the Mughal court
    • Qajar
      • Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing
      • Lacquer pen-case, signed by the artist Ashraf ibn Riza

Arts of the Islamic World 640 to now

  • Browse this content
  • A beginner’s guide
    • Introduction to Islam
    • About chronological periods
    • Arts of the Islamic world
    • The Qur’an
    • Adorning the Qur’an
    • Gold in the Qur’an
    • Illumination of the Qur’an
    • The Five Pillars of Islam
    • Islamic pilgrimages and sacred spaces
    • Hajj
    • The Kaaba
    • Stories of the modern pilgrimage
    • The complex geometry of Islamic design
    • Introduction to mosque architecture
    • Common types of mosque architecture
    • Pre-Islamic Arabia
    • Pilgrimage souvenirs
  • Early period
    • Browse this content
    • Arts of the Islamic world: The early period
    • Mosaics in the early Islamic world
    • Paintings in the early Islamic world
    • The Qur’an and the development of Arabic scripts between the 7th and 12th centuries
    • The Samanid Mausoleum, Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
    • Umayyad
      • The Umayyads, an introduction
      • The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra)
      • The Great Mosque of Damascus
    • Abbasid
      • Arts of the Abbasid Caliphate
      • Samarra, a palatial city
    • The Islamic West
      • The vibrant visual cultures of the Islamic West, an introduction
      • The Great Mosque of Córdoba
      • The Mosque of Bāb al-Mardūm (the Church of Santa Cruz), Toledo
      • The Great Mosque of Kairouan
      • Kairouan (from UNESCO)
  • Medieval period
    • Browse this content
    • Arts of the Islamic world: The medieval period
    • Folio from a Qur’an
    • Ghaznavid
      • Dado Panel, Courtyard of the Royal Palace of Mas’ud III
    • Fatimid
      • The Ben Ezra Synagogue, Fustat, Egypt
      • Rock crystal ewer, San Marco
      • Gold pendant with inset enamel decoration
    • Seljuq
      • The Great Mosque (or Masjid-e Jameh) of Isfahan
      • Two Royal Figures
      • Artist, scribe, and poet: Abu Zayd and 12th-century Iranian ceramics
    • Ilkhanid
      • Folio from a Shahnama, The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great)
      • Bahram Gur Fights the Karg (Horned Wolf)
      • Bahram Gur in a Peasant’s House
      • Mihrab from Isfahan (Iran)
    • Mamluk
      • Mohammed ibn al-Zain, Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis)
      • Mamluk Qur’an
      • Mamluk bindings
      • Madrasa and Friday Mosque of Sultan Hasan, Cairo
      • A glass lamp: illuminating sultan Hassan’s mosque and madrasa
      • A Mamluk candlestick base
      • Aleppo
    • Sultanates of South Asia
      • The Qutb complex and early Sultanate architecture
      • Sultanate art and architecture, an introduction
    • The Islamic West
      • Pyxis of al-Mughira
      • Khalaf, Pyxis
      • The Alhambra
      • Bifolium from the Pink Qu’ran
      • Conservation: The Nasrid plasterwork collection at the V&A
      • Coronation Mantle
  • Later period
    • Browse this content
    • Arts of the Islamic world: The later period
    • Introduction to the court carpets of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires
    • A Qur’an manuscript from coastal East Africa
    • Ottoman
      • The rise of the Ottoman Empire
      • Muradiye Mosque
      • Prayer carpet with triple-arch design
      • Mimar Sinan
        • Şehzade Mosque, Istanbul
        • Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
        • Mosque of Selim II, Edirne
        • Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul
      • Hagia Sophia as a mosque
      • The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
      • Spherical Hanging Ornament (Iznik)
      • Iznik ewer
      • Tughra (Official Signature) of Sultan Süleiman the Magnificent from Istanbul
      • Topkapı Palace tiles
      • Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, Jobar (Syria)
      • Bayt Farhi, a Jewish house in Damascus
      • Qa’a (The Damascus room)
      • Photograph of Abdülhamid II
    • Timurid
      • Timur’s entry into Samarkand, page from the Zafarnama
      • Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
      • Samarkand, crossroad of cultures
    • Safavid
      • The Safavids, an introduction
      • The Ardabil Carpet
      • Looking at Persian painting
      • The Court of Gayumars
      • Wine bearers in landscape, a Safavid textile
      • Riza-yi ‘Abbasi
        • Portrait of a young page reading
        • Seated calligrapher
      • Mir Afzal of Tun, a reclining woman and her lapdog
      • Groom and Rider drawing
      • The Ardashirnama: a Judeo-Persian manuscript
      • Divination Bowl with Inscriptions and Zodiac Signs
    • Mughal
      • The Mughal painting tradition: an introduction
      • Exploring Color in Mughal Paintings
      • Illustration from the Akbarnama
      • Humayun’s tomb
      • The Taj Mahal
      • Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
      • Portrait of Shah ‘Abbas I of Iran
      • Shah Jahan’s portrait, emeralds, and the exotic at the Mughal court
    • Qajar
      • Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing
      • Lacquer pen-case, signed by the artist Ashraf ibn Riza

Two Royal Figures

by Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay and Dr. Steven Zucker

Two Royal Figures, Iran (Seljuq period), mid 11th – mid 12th c., painted and gilded stucco (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:
Two Royal Figures (right), Detail with HemTwo Royal Figures (left), Detail with HiltTwo Royal Figures (right), Detail with HiltTwo Royal Figures in GalleryTwo Royal Figures, Detail with Faces in ProfileTwo Royal FiguresTwo Royal Figures (left), Detail with CrownTwo Royal Figures (right), Detail with Winged CrownTwo Royal Figures (right), Detail with BustTwo Royal Figures (left), Detail with BustTwo Royal Figures (left), Detail with ChestTwo Royal Figures (right), Detail with TorsoTwo Royal Figures (left), Detail with TorsoTwo Royal Figures (left), Detail with Head

More Smarthistory images…

Cite this page as: Dr. Elizabeth Macaulay and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Two Royal Figures," in Smarthistory, December 5, 2015, accessed September 21, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/two-royal-figures-saljuq-period/.
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At Smarthistory we believe art has the power to transform lives and to build understanding across cultures. We believe that the brilliant histories of art belong to everyone, no matter their background. Smarthistory’s free, award-winning digital content unlocks the expertise of hundreds of leading scholars, making the history of art accessible and engaging to more people, in more places, than any other publisher.

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