Advanced Search

K-12 Educator
K-12 Student
Museum Visitor
UMMA Docent
UMMA Staff
University Faculty
University Student
Between and Mortarboard

UMMA Object Specific Fields




Query builder

How to Use the Query Builder

Part of: Middle Eastern Art (22 resources )
|

Middle Eastern Art

Copyright
All Rights Reserved
Created by
Laura Yoo
Last Updated
May 25, 2022 2:25 p.m.

22 Items in this Learning Collection
Entry into Jerusalem, from the Small Passion

Collection Object
Snow in Jerusalem, from the portfolio "Expedition to the Holyland"

Collection Object
The Opposition Want to Overthrow the Government, from 'Expedition to the Holylan

Collection Object
The Bible: The People of Israel

Collection Object
Temple of Horus at Edfu
Egyptian temple decorated with carved motifs seen from a slight oblique angle.
Collection Object
Zal Goes to Rudaba, from the Shahnama of Firdausi
This painted miniature Shahnama page was made by the Shiraz and Timurid schools, ca. 1460 in Baghdad, Iraq. The painting is done in ink, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper. The scene shown here is <em>Zal Goes to Rudaba </em>from the Shahnama, the Persian book of kings. 
Collection Object
Tahmina Comes to Rustam, from the Shahnama of Firdausi
Timurid miniature from the Shiraz and Timurid schools, ca. 1460. The painting is done in ink, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper. The scene depicts <em>Tahmina Comes to Rustam </em>from the Shahnama of Firdausi, the Persian book of kings. 
Collection Object
Book Cover, made for the 15th-century manuscript of the Shahnama of Firdausi (The "Kervorkian Shahnama")

Collection Object
Seated figure with tripartite crown
The moulded head of the terracotta figurine represents a royal personnage. He wears a three-lobed crown, spherical earrings, and a necklace. He is seated with his legs bent from the hips at right angles to the upper part of the body. The legs are crossed and thus form a circular base which allows the essentially two-dimensional figure to remain erect. The assembling of the limbs was apparently done after the figurine had been cast.
Collection Object
Egyptian Woman II

Collection Object
Doo Da Post (stamped and cancelled manilla envelope)
This work is a sealed manilla envelope covered in various artist-made postage and printed stamps. Printed on the envelope are the following phrases and items: "STAMP ART", "FIRST DAY OF ISSUE", "DOO-DA POST JUL 24 1980 N.Y. BRANCH", "DOO-DA JUL 24 1980 CHICAGO", Chinese Characters, "ART MAIL COMMEMORATIVE", "DOO-DA POST- 153 LUDLOW, N.Y.C. NY 10000 USA", "MADE IN USA", a two-tailed siren and a winged-nut. The stamps include images of a portrait of a man in a hat, 3 stamps of the Statue of Liberty, a triangular stamp of corn kernels, the Greek god Hermes, Leonardo Da Vinci and a landscape with blue water, green hills, and a white plane overhead.
Collection Object
Cover of Ann Arbor Shahnameh (First heading)
This leaf is from a manuscript of the epic poem, Shahnama of Firdausi and features columns of Persian-Farsi calligraphy with an illuminated chapter heading at the top of the page.
Collection Object
Faramurz taken Prisoner, Shah-nameh of Ferdowski
This Persian manuscript leaf is attributed to the 17th century Safavid period. Its format consists of two sections of calligraphy and a miniature (painted scene) in the middle. The painted scene features a grassy landscape with a mounted soldier and two standing figures. 
Collection Object
Ardshir Papakan Sits Upon the Throne in Baghdad, from the Shahnama of Firdausi
This Persian miniature is attributed to the Shiraz and Timurid schools, ca. 1460. The painting is done in ink, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper. The scene, <em>Ardshir Papakan Sits Upon the Throne in Baghdad</em>, is part of the Shahnama of Firdausi, the Persian book of kings. 
Collection Object
Silk fragment showing figures in an architectural setting

Collection Object
Béni-Hassan. Grottes du Nord
Five men sit just outside the rectangular, columned entrances of three grottoes set into the side of a hill. 
Collection Object
Intérieur de la mosquée Amrou
Photograph of the columns in the interior of a mosque.
Collection Object
Young Arab Girl

Collection Object
Untitled
The skeleton of a camel lies in the foreground of this photograph, while scattered groupings of figures on camelback dot the desert landscape in the background. 
Collection Object
Lobed jar with lid

Collection Object
Qur’an manuscript page
A page from a Qur'an manuscript.
Collection Object
Medicinal plants; Leaf from an Arabic translation of the "De Materia Medica," by Dioscorides

Collection Object
Places: Noel Gallery Re-install

Copyright
All Rights Reserved
Created by
Julia Laplaca
Last Updated
May 25, 2022 2:25 p.m.

35 Items in this Learning Collection
Coconut Cup
This cup is fashioned from a coconut shell set in a shallow bowl supported on a long, narrow stem and held in place by three straps and a tall neck band. The shallow domed lid has a plain, overhanging rim and terminates in a finial with a statuette of a nude sea nymph and serpent. The metalwork is densely decorated with various masks, animals, fantastic creatures, and vegetal ornament.
Collection Object
Double Festoon Relief Fragment with Putto's Head

Collection Object
Eve Tempted by the Serpent
A nude woman with long hair flowing down her back grasps a tree branch with her right hand and bends it downward in order to more easily pluck the green fruit dangling at its tip with her left hand. Her white body contrasts starkly with the darker tones of the surrounding landscape. The less conspicuous figure of a serpent with the head of a bearded man coils about the trunk of the tree next to the woman and fixes her with his stare.
Collection Object
St. John the Evangelist on Patmos
St. John the Evangelist sits in the foreground with a book open on his knee and quill pen poised over its pages. Two books rest next to him and an eagle has alighted on an adjacent rock. St. John looks up and to his right to see a standing figure of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Christ, who appear in a glowing mandorla hovering in the sky. A vast panoramic view of a bustling harbor and formidable mountains unfolds behind St. John and extends into the distance.
Collection Object
Annunciation
An angel, holding a scepter in his left hand and making a gesture of speech with his right, interrupts the Virgin at her reading. She kneels on the floor and rests her left hand on an open book placed atop a lectern. A vase with a flowering lily sits on the floor between the angel and the Virgin and a small white dove encircled by a halo hovers between them. The scene unfolds within an elaborate and richly decorated interior that includes a chair and canopied bed in the background.
Collection Object
Bowl Fragment with Figural Designs
This fragment of a Mongol Islamic bowl comes from 14th century Iran. The side design features a kneeling person with a bottle, while the side panels have leopards and floral decoration. <br /> Colors included are cobalt, turquoise, green, and dark geen-gray on a cream-tan ground. The fragment is about one-third of the original bowl.<br /><br /><br /><br />  
Collection Object
Mina'i ware bowl fragment with confronting equestrian figures
This Mina'i ware bowl profile fragment features painting in blue, black, white, green, and red over turquoise glaze. Two confronted horesman and conventionalized inscriptions near the rim are the main decorative features.<br /><br />  
Collection Object
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
This painting depicts the interior of a room where four men are grouped around a table. They are painted as half-length figures, and their forms fill the foreground. They are painted in warm tones of brown, red and green and dressed in 16th century Netherlandish clothing. There is a king, wearing a pointed crown, who, with his right arm awkwardly crossed over his left, points to another man across the table. He has a furrowed brow and his mouth is partially open as if he is speaking. Next to him is a man looking downward, intently counting coins piled on the table. The third man pauses while writing in a book, his hand with the pen is stopped in mid-air, and looks back at the king. The fourth man, on the other side of the table, has his hands clasped in a pleading gesture and his eyes meet the gaze of the king. Items in the room and on the table such as books, scissors, a money bag, and an hourglass, are painted in great detail. In the upper right, a small outdoor scene, painted in tones of light green, shows
Collection Object
Saint

Collection Object
Map of the Sun. Illustration from, 'Mundus Subterraneus,' by Athanasius Kircher

Collection Object
Star-shaped tile with phoenix among clouds

Collection Object
Shallow bowl with stylized floral medallion

Collection Object
Casket with inscription in floriated Kufic script
This inlaid bronze casket with Kufic inscription was masterfully produced in the 12th century Seljuk period. Possibly of Syrian origin, the lid is hammered from a flat sheet of brass with the bottom formed by folding and joining a section cut from a flat sheet. The seams are on three sides of the base and in the rear under the right-hand hinge. Brass hinges on the object are attached by copper rivets. Originally, the object would have a handle and front clasp which are now missing. <br /><br />  
Collection Object
Chest (no lock)

Collection Object
Credenza
The front of this handsome oak credenza, or sideboard, is divided into halves by three pilasters. Each half is outfitted with a drawer and a door below. The decorative and functional components are artfully arranged across the front of the piece to form a balanced composition of repeated geometric shapes and harmonious proportions.
Collection Object
Carved Wood Panel

Collection Object
Christ Child
A nude, standing child figure with the right hand raised to chin-level. The forefinger and middle finger are raised and the thumb is out. 
Collection Object
Cristo, Oaxaca
Photograph of a tableau in a Catholic church in Oaxaca, Mexico. The scene includes Christ, Mary, and other religious figures.
Collection Object
Calvario, Patzcuaro
Photograph of a tableau from a Catholic church in Calvario, Patzuaro, Mexico. The scene includes a male figure at the center, with two women and one man arranged behind him.
Collection Object
Adoration of the Magi
This unfinished painted study depicts a crowd of figures gathered around three richly dressed men and a woman and child, who appear on a flight of stairs near the entrance to a large building decorated with classical columns and pilasters. An elderly bald man wearing a red cloak trimmed with ermine kneels with his head bowed at the top of the stairs before a kneeling woman who holds an infant in her right arm. Another man wearing a turban decorated with a large feather stands behind the kneeling man and holds a gold censer hanging from a chain in his left hand. A third richly dressed man stands at the bottom of the stairs with his back turned toward the viewer. A number of other figures crowd around this central group from the sides. A large ox sits in the right foreground with a donkey standing behind it.
Collection Object
The Annunciation
An angel, draped with a flowing red mantle, descends on the left from a bank of clouds. He holds a scepter and twisting scroll in his left hand while he points with his right toward a white dove encircled by a halo of light that descends toward a woman dressed in long robes and a veil. She sits, holding a book open on the lectern before her, and draws back slightly with her right hand raised and her eyes downcast. Six cherubim sit above on the edge of the cloudbank, which opens to reveal a male figure barely visible in the blinding light that fills the cloud.
Collection Object
Incense burner lid with peacock-shaped finial

Collection Object
Deep bowl with vegetal and calligraphic designs
The vibrant coloring of this deep bowl consists dark brown, muddy brown, yellow-green and ivory. The design is organized around an inscription which appears above the base far down on the side. Above the inscription running horizontally is a separate enclosed design which looks like arcaded doorways with a string with a ball on it cutting each arcade in half for a total of seven. Opposite this is a series of four and one-half arcades in a vertical direction. Between these two areas there is a design repeated on opposite sides of the bowl with floral circular motifs on each side of a large, abstracted pear-shape form. The circles are brown and yellow-green and the pear form is orange and brown. Beneath each circle is a 'base' narrowing towards the center and directing the eye to the base. The base is covered with a shield-like design of orange and brown. The ivory background is not filled in but certain lines have been incised to add greater interest.  <br />  
Collection Object
Faucet with Peacock Spigot and Lion-Headed Spout
This large bronze faucet features a peacock spigot and a lion-headed spout.
Collection Object
Persian poetry anthology manuscript page

Collection Object
Dish

Collection Object
Self-Portrait with carnations
This elegant self-portrait depicts a half-length figure of a man in three-quarters profile with his left arm resting on a stone ledge. The somber colors of his garb, consisting of a white shirt with a dark robe, is offset by luxurious details: the fur collar of his robe, the black ribbon and gold chain around his neck, the embroidered collar and cuffs of his shirt, and the three rings on his right hand. Two pink carnations appear on the ledge before him.
Collection Object
Gamepiece of an Armed Knight Throttling a Monstrous, Bearded Chimera
Round, carved gamepiece featuring the image of a figure in armor sitting on top of and stabbing a winged creature with a beard.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Fragment of a gaming piece with male slaying beast, possibly Hercules and the Erymanthian boar, zigzag pattern with incised circles in border
Fragment of circular gaming piece carved in elephant ivory in high relief. Standing male figure wearing knee-length robe holds sword in right hand and stabs inverted beast in the chest. Forelegs of beast end in hooves; head of beast characterized by large eye and pronounced nostril. Left arm of figure and rear half of the beast missing. Border contains zigzag pattern with bead motif.
Collection Object
Tahmina Comes to Rustam, from the Shahnama of Firdausi
Timurid miniature from the Shiraz and Timurid schools, ca. 1460. The painting is done in ink, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper. The scene depicts <em>Tahmina Comes to Rustam </em>from the Shahnama of Firdausi, the Persian book of kings. 
Collection Object
Star-shaped tile with molded floral design
This star-shaped ceramic tile is decorated with floral patterns and shapes. This kind of tile seems to be very popular in the 15th and 16th centuries of the Iranian Islamic world. The relief decoration is moulded and unglazed while the ground is glazed in blues with black underglaze and covered with a clear overglaze. 
Collection Object
Interior of a Guardroom
Groups of men gamble, smoke, and drink in a dark guardroom. In the left foreground a seated man wearing a red sash lights his white clay pipe, while his companion pauses his smoking to listen to a man standing next to him. The red of the smoker&#39;s sash is repeated in the flag and fabrics strewn about in the right foreground, which form part of a still-life of weapons, musical instruments, and glinting armor heaped together against the wall. Between these brightly lit foreground vignettes the scene recedes into the darkened interior where a group of five men gather about a table to gamble.
Collection Object
Vanitas (Still Life), with globe, skull, candle, tazza, and covered cup
This remarkable still life depicts a table crowded with, among other things, a gilded covered goblet, a wide saucer-shaped silver tazza, a celestial globe painted with images of the constellations, a skull wearing a laurel wreath, and an extinguished candle, all rendered in exquisite detail with careful attention paid to the effects of light and texture. While the arrangement of objects may appear casual, the composition is artfully balanced along two diagonal axes centered on the two cups that lie crossed on the table. The repetition of ovoid shapes throughout the painting and the monochrome tonality with its restricted range of hues and values, a hallmark of Heda's style, assures the seamless integration of the sundry objects into a unified whole.<br />
Collection Object
Double Cloth

Collection Object
Velvet

Collection Object

Tahmina Comes to Rustam, from the Shahnama of Firdausi

Accession Number
1963/1.46

Title
Tahmina Comes to Rustam, from the Shahnama of Firdausi

Artist(s)
Iranian

Artist Nationality
Iranian

Object Creation Date
circa 1460

Medium & Support
ink, opaque watercolor, and gold leaf on paper

Dimensions
10 3/8 in. x 6 15/16 in. ( 26.4 cm x 17.6 cm )

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Label copy
Once when Rustam went out hunting alone in Turan, his great horse Rakhsh was stolen by thieves at night. Rustam found his way to Samangan (modern Samarkand), where he was warmly welcomed by the king. That night, he was awakened from a drunken stupor when a beautiful maiden entered his chamber.
At noon of night, while Phospor crossed the sky,
There came mysterious whispers. Rustam’s door
Was softly opened, and a slave who bore
A taper savoring of ambergris
Walked stately towards the drunken sleeper’s couch.
Behind the slave there was a moon-faced girl
Sun-bright, all scent and hue, with arching eyebrows
And locks that hung in tresses lasso-like,
In stature like a lofty cypress-tree. …
The lion-hearted Rustam marveled at her
And calling on the Maker asked: “Thy name?
What seek’st thou midst the murk of night? Thy will?”
She said: “Tahmina: and thou well mayst say
That mine affliction teareth me in twain.
Sole daughter of the king of Samangan,
And by descent half lion and half pard,*
There is no mate for me among the kings,
Nor are there many like me under heaven.
But many and many a story have I heard
Of thee …
… And now if thou wilt have me I am thine. …”
Warner, II, 123–24
Rustam and Tahmina were married that night, but Rustam departed the very next day for his homeland. From this one-night encounter Tahmina bore a son, Suhrab, who appears in the next illustration (1963/1.47).
Note how the artist has evoked the luxury of Rustam’s quarters, with blue-and-gold glazed tile walls, a pierced-stone window, a brick floor, and golden furnishings. Beyond the walls we can see a garden, with delicately brushed blue flowers on a white ground, suggesting the effect of plants seen in the moonlight.
* pard: an archaic term for leopard
———
Maribeth Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art
Exhibited in "A Medieval Masterpiece from Baghdad: the Ann Arbor Shahnama"
August 14 through December 19, 2004

Subject matter
Tahmina Comes to Rustam

At noon of night, while Phosphor crossed the sky, 
There came mysterious whispers, Rustam's door
Was softly opened, and a slave who bare 
A taper savouring of ambergris
Walked stately toward the drunken sleeper's couch. 
Behind the slave there was a moon-faced girl
Sun-bright, all scent and hue, with arching eyebrows
And locks that hung in tresses lasso-like....

The lion-hearted Rustam marvelled at her
And calling on the Maker asked: "Thy name?
What seek'st thou midst the murk of night? Thy will?"
She said: "Tahmina: and thou well mayst say 
That mine affliction teareth me in twain.

...And now if thou wilt have me I am thine..."

Physical Description
Timurid miniature from the Shiraz and Timurid schools, ca. 1460. The painting is done in ink, opaque watercolor and gold leaf on paper. The scene depicts Tahmina Comes to Rustam from the Shahnama of Firdausi, the Persian book of kings. 

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Collection Area
Western

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Iranian Islamic painting styles after the Mongols
Iranian Islamic styles after the Mongols
Persian-Farsi (language)
Shahnama
Timurid
Timurid painting styles
gold leaf
gouache (paint)
interiors
miniatures (paintings)
shahs
watercolors (paintings)

10 Related Resources
Arts from Persia and Iran
(Part of: Ancient and Classical Civilizations)
Before 1492
(Part of 3 Learning Collections)
Visual Adaptations of Literature
(Part of 2 Learning Collections)
Shahnama, the Persian Book of Kings
(Part of: Shahnama, The Persian Book of Kings     )
The Age of Heroes 
(Part of: Shahnama, The Persian Book of Kings     )
Visual Cultures of Islam- Manuscripts 
(Part of: Visual Cultures of Islam )
Youth and Sexuality in the Middle East
(Part of: 2019 Summer Study Sets)

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted