AT THE DOCTOR’S

“AT THE DOCTOR’S” 

First half of the ХV century. Herat school.

The miniature is executed for the “Shahnameh” of Abu’l-Qasim Ferdowsi.

This work is a facsimile copy of the miniature from the manuscript kept in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art in Turkiye.

The masterpiece of Persian literature, “Shahnameh” (“The Book of Kings”), was written by the Persian poet Abu’l-Qasim Ferdowsi in the early XI century. Created within 35 years (976-1011), the poem consists of almost sixty thousand couplets (bayts), its volume is twice as much as “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey” combined. Ferdowsi included in the poem a thousand couplets written by his predecessor Dakiki, who died in his youth and couldn’t manage to complete his work. Covering the lives of fifty monarchs the “Shahnameh” is conventionally divided into three parts – mythological, heroic and historical and includes the history of Iran from ancient times to the penetration of Islam in the VII century. The poem is written entirely in Persian at a time when Arabic was the primary language of science and literature. Thus, Ferdowsi contributed to the flourishing and spread of the Persian language in the world.

The miniature is located on the right-hand side of a double page of the book, at the bottom of the text.

The illustration is devoted to the plot “Iskander tests an Indian physician” from the chapter of “Shahnameh” dedicated to the Alexander Romance.

In Ferdowsi’s poem, Alexander the Great appears as Iskander.

According to the “Shahnameh” poem, Keyd, a local ruler in India, dreams about being attacked by Alexander’s army, and to ward off trouble, sends four valuable gifts to Alexander the Great: his beautiful daughter, a wise sage, a skilled physician, and a magical, ever-filled cup.

One day Iskander decided to test the Indian physician. The doctor possessed an ability to determine disease by a human tear.

Once, Iskander falls ill, and the Indian physician cures the king with an herbal concoction.

The background of the miniature is in a light ochre palette. A golden horizon line is visible in the background, indicating daytime.

The miniature includes five male figures depicted in the pastel ground with flowering tufts.

In the center of the composition, King Iskander is depicted in a sitting position, with his hands hidden behind his back, and a healer collecting a tear from the ruler’s eye.

The bareheaded Shah Iskander is dressed in a light gray robe. He seems to suffer from a physical pain.

The healer is dressed in a light emerald robe and a white turban on his head. In his left hand, the healer holds an object resembling a needle, with which he collects a tear into a bowl, and with his right hand, he holds Iskander’s head.

To the right and left of the main characters, the royal retinue is depicted.

On the right side of the composition – two young men stand in a submissive pose, holding onto the narrow waistband with their hands. One of them is dressed in a light scarlet robe and a white turban, the other is in gray clothes and a white cap with black lapels. Under the outerwear of the young men, black pointed boots are visible.

On the left, a young man is in a light red-brown robe, the right sleeve of which hangs over his hand. Finger to mouth he looks in amazement at the taking place scene. This young man also has a white cap with black lapels on his head and black boots under the robe.

 

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