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Persian

Isfandiyar and the Dragon, ca. 1680

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Persian

Title

Isfandiyar and the Dragon

Year

ca. 1680

Medium

Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • ink,
  • watercolor,
  • gold

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

34.9 x 21.9 cm (13 11/16 x 8 5/8 inches) (sheet) Page; greatest height, mat size: A; Asian Art Depar

Place

Iran

Type

  • Paintings

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

17.450

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Text, Paratext, and Images

September 1, 2020 - July 24, 2021

In this scene, the hero Isfandiyar confronts a dragon during a journey to rescue his sisters. Isfandiyar had a horse-drawn cart fitted with spears and hid himself in a box within. The dragon swallowed the cart and the embedded blades. According to the Farsi text below the image, Isfandiyar then “came out of the box and struck the dragon’s brain with his sword, and a poisonous smoke rose from the dragon’s head.”

The painting was probably once bound in a copy of the Shahnameh—stories written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi that describe Persian kings and heroes and their conflicts with various enemies, including mystical creatures.

Glimpses of Grandeur

September 24 - December 26, 1999

Related

No Image Available

Persian, Iran

Sikandar and the dragon, around 1680
No Image Available

Persian, Iran

Sikandar and the dragon, around 1680

More objects +

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Isfandiyar and the Dragon with the accession number of 17.450. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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