AKM72
The Shah Isma‘il II Shahnameh
Like his forebears, the Safavid ruler Shah Isma‘il II (r. 1576–1577) commissioned his own deluxe copy of the Shahnameh. The manuscript’s expressive and vibrant pictures, including nine in the Aga Khan Museum Collection, are often painted in an even larger scale than those of the Shah Tahmasp Shahnameh. They can be attributed to historically documented Safavid court painters, whose personal stories are fascinating in their own right. One artist was Siyavush, a Georgian who was enslaved as a child and brought to court by Isma‘il II’s predecessor, Shah Tahmasp. Another artist, Sadiqi Beg, later served as head of the royal library and commissioned the renowned copy of Anvar-i Suhayli on view in this exhibition (AKM289). ‘Ali Asghar — the father and teacher of Riza ‘Abbasi, the most celebrated painter of the Safavid era — also contributed to the manuscript. In this way, the Shah Isma‘il II Shahnameh is an important link in a chain of relationships connecting some of the most renowned Persian manuscripts ever produced.
AKM100
AKM103
