Shahnameh Archives - Iran News Daily

World Art Museum unveils folio from rare copy of Shahnameh

mahla — Tue, 30 May 2023 21:07:06 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) –A detached folio from a 682-year-old copy of the Shahnameh, Ferdowsi’s epic masterpiece, was unveiled at the World Art Museum in Tehran on Monday.

The manuscript was commissioned by Qavam ad-Din Hasan, a minister to the Injuid governor of Fars, Abu Is’haq, in 741 AH (1341 AD), as stated in its colophon.

On its two sides, the 30 X 37-cm folio carries the story and illustration of Nushzad and Rambarzin.

“Qavam brought together several persons to create one of the most embellished copies of the Shahnameh with 104 illustrations,” said art expert Ali-Asghar Mirzaimehr.

The manuscript consisted of 325 pages written in naskh by calligrapher Hasan ibn Mohammad ibn Ali ibn Hosseini who wrote under the pseudonym “Museli”.

An art dealer namely Dikran Kelekian purchased the manuscript from a dentist and exported it to Europe nearly 102 ago. To make much more money, he detached all the folios from the book, and sold each one to collectors around the world.

Mirzaimehr said that some Persian manuscript experts have noted that the illustrations in the book were drawn by a single artist, but they were created by different artists in a state-run art workshop.

He also added, “Qavam ad-Din Hasan commissioned the artist to create the manuscript in 741 AH before he had been appointed as a minister by the Injuid governor. At that time he was just an intellectual who served as an official in the Injuid court.”

“Before he was appointed as a minister, he had a powerful desire to produce a copy of the Shahnameh. Consequently, we believe that he had many other achievements or created several other copies of the Shahnameh, which have since disappeared over time,” the expert explained.

Detached folios from the rare manuscripts are preserved in the world’s major collections, including the Harvard Art Museums and Brooklyn Museum.

Among the scholars confirming the authenticity of the folio is Shahnameh expert Amir Arghavan who attended the unveiling ceremony.

He said that many fake manuscripts of the Shahnameh have recently been produced and added, “However, our surveys verify the genuineness of the folio and we are certain that it dates back to the Injuid period.”

Photo: Part of a detached folio from a 682-year-old copy of the Shahnameh commissioned by Qavam ad-Din Hasan.

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Ferdowsi commemoration, a tribute to Iranian values

reporter 1222 — Thu, 14 May 2020 05:30:43 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The commemoration of Ferdowsi and his magnum opus ‘Shahnameh’ (Book of Kings) is paying tribute to Iran’s national values and religious beliefs, Iranian Tourism Minister Ali-Asghar Mounesan said.

He made the statement in his message for the National Ferdowsi Day, which is also Persian Language Day (May 14), IRNA wrote.

Ferdowsi immortalized the Persian language, culture, history, and originality of the Iranian tribes by creating the everlasting work of ‘Shahnameh’, he said.

“Undoubtedly, one of the most important features of Ferdowsi is his epic, pleasant, and eloquent language and that’s why ‘Shahnameh’ has become one of the symbols of Persian-speaking history and culture since the very first days to the present and even for the distant future,” the minister said.

“We Iranians are indebted to Ferdowsi from two perspectives, one is his focus on our homeland and the second is directing attention to Persian language and literature, which is the greatest message of ‘Shahnameh’ for Iranians.”

‘Shahnameh’, on the one hand, has a divine origin and, on the other, is compatible with human nature. It admires fulfillment of pledge and denounces not keeping a promise, Mounesan added.

Undoubtedly, the long-lasting permanence of the Persian language is indebted to the famous Iranian poet. Ferdowsi designed the Persian language and literature in such a way that his artwork was protected in years and spread the Persian literature beyond the borders of Iran, the minister said.‌

Persian-speaking states’ poets inspired by ‘Shahnameh’

‘Shahnameh’ has been inspiring numerous epic poets in Persian-speaking states, Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan Mohammad–Taqi Saberi said on Wednesday.

Expressing congratulations on National Ferdowsi Day, he said that Ferdowsi’s masterpiece has been the token of solidarity of the Persian-speaking nations.

Shahnameh could be regarded as a valuable heritage for Iranians as well as all Persian-speaking countries, the ambassador said.

Its universal message has transcended the interests of the enduring work, inspiring many writers and researchers around the globe to conduct extensive research on the book, he further noted.

Ferdowsi (940-1020), the author of ‘Shahnameh’ which is the world’s longest epic poem created by a single poet, is celebrated as the most influential figure in Persian literature. The poet continues to revive national and epic stories and history of Iran and breathe new life into Persian language and literature, and therefore he enjoys a lofty status and is venerated as Iran’s national poet.

Ferdowsi spent over three decades writing ‘Shahnameh’. It is twice as long as Homer’s ‘Iliad and Odyssey’ combined. The book about the Persian kings, written entirely in Persian, played a key role in the revival of this language and made a significant contribution to the development of Persian literature.

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Australian animation on Persian folklore wins at Sydney Filmfest.

reporter 1222 — Wed, 19 Jun 2019 07:30:22 +0000

The tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab forms part of the 10th-century Persian epic Shahnameh by the Persian poet Ferdowsi. The poem is a story of mistaken identities, narrating a battle between a father and a son who have no idea about their relations until it is too late.

Lee Whitmore’s retelling of the myth is based on a poem of the same name by Matthew Arnold. The watercolor animation is about “a young charismatic English teacher who reads the poem to her students, a group of naïve 14-year-old girls whose main concerns are pop music and nail polish. The poem takes the girls on a journey to ancient Persia and a legendary fight between two warriors Sohrab and Rostam. The poem ends tragically and the girls are confronted with the reality of the death of Sohrab the younger and less wily warrior. In the last stanza watercolour images of the night sky over the mighty Oxus River are a reminder of the beautiful eternal nature of life. The girls return to their class puzzled but wiser.”

The festival’s main prize went to ‘Parasite,’ the South Korean black drama that previously won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.

Sydney Film Festival ran June 5-16, 2019, but will continue to play a selection of popular films for the next four days. Voting for the audience awards remains open until Wednesday, according to Variety.

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