Title
A page from Khamsa of Nizami - Khusrau and Shirin
Year/Period
AH 978/ 1570 CE
Region
Shiraz, Iran
Object Type
Material
Dimension
Object size: 21.1 x 16.5 cm
Accession No.
2009-03598
Collection of
This miniature painting shows a scene from the Khamsa (Quintet) composed by the 12th century Azeri poet Nizami-ye Ganjavi. It depicts the union of the lovers Khusrau and Shirin elevated on a mountain of nine mattresses, surrounded by monumental candles, golden dishes, and cushions for their crowns.Nizami-ye Ganjavi is considered one of the greatest romantic epic poets of Persian literature, renowned for his lyrical and sensuous style, and his mastery of the 'masnavi' style (double-rhymed verse). The Khamsa of Nizami is a collection of five classical poems and this illustrated scene here is from Khusrau and Shirin (1177-1180), one of the five stories in the Khamsa.
