HEROIC COMBAT SCENE FROM THE SHAHNAMEH (PERSIAN EPIC PRINT)

A FINE 19TH-CENTURY PERSIAN PRINT DEPICTING A DRAMATIC EPISODE FROM THE SHAHNAMEH, FERDOWSI’S MONUMENTAL EPIC OF KINGS AND HEROES. THE COMPOSITION CENTRES ON A MOMENT OF DIRECT CONFRONTATION BETWEEN ARMOURED WARRIORS ON HORSEBACK, SURROUNDED BY ATTENDANT SOLDIERS AND COURTIERS, ALL RENDERED IN A DENSE, LINEAR STYLE CHARACTERISTIC OF PERSIAN POPULAR PRINT TRADITIONS. INTRICATE HATCHING, DECORATIVE COSTUME DETAILS, AND INSCRIBED CARTOUCHES ENHANCE THE NARRATIVE CLARITY AND VISUAL RHYTHM OF THE SCENE. DERIVED FROM EARLIER MANUSCRIPT ILLUSTRATION MODELS, THE PRINT REFLECTS THE 19TH-CENTURY DISSEMINATION OF THE SHAHNAMEH THROUGH WOODBLOCK AND LITHOGRAPHIC PRODUCTION. RICH IN EPIC ICONOGRAPHY AND HISTORICAL CHARACTER, THIS WORK STANDS AS A COLLECTIBLE EXAMPLE OF PERSIAN VISUAL STORYTELLING AND THE ENDURING CULTURAL LEGACY OF THE SHAHNAMEH.