The Miniature Paintings of the Barzū-Nāma: An Illustrated Interpolation to a Qajar Shāhnama from Matenadaran Collection

The Miniature Paintings of the Barzū-Nāma: An Illustrated Interpolation to a Qajar Shāhnamafrom Matenadaran CollectionAuthor(s): Rachel GoldenweiserSource: Iran & the Caucasus, Vol. 3/4 (1999/2000), pp. 217-224Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4030788 .

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THE MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF THE BARZU-NAMA An Illustrated Interpolation to a Qajar Sh3hnama

from Matenadaran Collection

RACHEL GOLDENWEISER Yerevan

Interpolations to Firdausi's ShhJzn&na were presumably written mostly in the I Ith and 12th centuries. Their writers, frequently anonymous, utilized the old epic tradi- tion and strove to create new stories analogous to those contained in the Shahnama. These poems supplement the cycle of legends about the Sistan hero Rustam (Smn- n1ma, Garsh&sp-n4ma, Jahangir-nama, Faranurz-nama, etc.).' However, they did not exist independently; rather, they were included much later and firmly into the copies of the Shahnana, acquiring definite positions between certain d&stns.

One such interpolation is the Barzo-nana, which is encountered quite often in manuscript copies of the Shahnana, beginning in the Safavid period. A small extract from the Barzoi-nana was first published in 1829 by T. Makan in Calcutta2.

Naturally, it can be posited that the plots of these interpolations were no less pop- ular than than those of the basic text, i. e. Shahnama, and that they were often illustrated. For example, judging from the data of the illustration list to St.-Peterburg's Shahnana collection (first published by L. T. Giuzali'an and M. M. D'iakonov in 1935), we see that some manuscripts do contain illustrations to the Barza-n&na (SPL3 NPS 65, 01 1654, SPL 333, SPL NPS 13, et al.)'. However, I am unaware of scholarly works dedicated specifically to their elucidation.

The same can be said about the miniatures of the interpolations noted in the Preliminary Index of the Shahnama illustrations published by the University of Michigan5. The catalogs of well-known public and private Oriental manuscript col- lections time and again manifest the existence of miniature compositions illustrating the Barzo-nama in a different style of miniature painting than found in extant copies of the Shahn&na.' However, as for this writing, I know no publication of this rich material.

This paper attempts to expand current notions about the Barza-ni7na by examin- ing a complete manuscript copy of the Shahn&na dated 1830 A.D., preserved as no. 535 in the Arabic and Persian manuscript collection of the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) in Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.'

The manuscript possesses a Baysunghurl preface, and the colophon in the manuscript states that it was prepared by order of Muhammad Karim khan Bidsharl. We also know the calligrapher, Muhammad Husain ibn Muhammad Agivll (colophon, p. 777).

The size of manuscript is 35x23,5 cm. The text measures 25x15 cm in 4 columns of 27 lines per column. The handwriting script is a small naskh of near calligraphic quality. Black ink is used. The titles are written in cursive nasta?liq containing shikas- ta elements and are in dark-crimson ink.

The manuscript has a double frontispiece on ff. 1 -2, 1 1-12, and 1 11-1 12, all of a high artistic and technical level, reminiscent of the best decorative patterns contained

RA &i CAUCA^SUS, vol. -4, 1992J, pp. 217-22 inerntoa Pulctos of Irna tdj



RACHEL GOLDENWEJSER

in the Herati, Tabrizi and Qazvini styles of Persian miniature painting during the 15th to 16th centuries.

The only nuance which differentiates these Qajar frontispiece from their well- known counterparts are its peculiar small flowers, painted in gouache and rendered in chiaroscuro. These flowers are ingrained in the golden arabesque found in the mar- gin of the manuscript.

The frontispiece divides the manuscript into three parts:

f. 2b Baysunghur's preface, including a satire against Mahmad Ghaznavi (38 bayts);

f. 7b The beginning of the narration; and f. 206b The story of the reign of Luhrasp. From the illustrations' execution and general unity of style it is not hard to see

here three distinctly different creative hands. However, they are contemporary to one other and can be fully considered as the works of artists belonging to the same

kftf bkhana. The paper used in the manuscript is of

high quality: cream-colored, polished, and Indian in origin. The cover-papers are facto- ry-made, bearing the stamp of the Russian Vyatkinfabrika as well as the monogram of Tsar Nikolai I.

The manuscript has a lacquer binding, whose cover is decorated with miniature compositions representing battle scenes involving a multitude of characters (about 100 persons and 25 horses). These miniatures are distin- guished by a panoramic representation of scenes, the monumental treatment of the main characters, and the inclusion in these miniatures of 19th century military ordnance, which is historically incongruent for the events depicted in the composition. The bright-red background of the inner surface of the binding covers is decorated with miniature compositions in which the traditional motif of "birds and flowers" is used in medal- lions and decorative corners.

The Barza-nina is inserted between the dastans written about Bizhan and Manizha and the 12 warriors (ff. 135a-168b). It is illustrated by four of the 56 miniatures contained in the manuscript, namely:

1. Barza's mother arrives at the battlefield (f. 153b); 2. Rustam throws a feast in honor of Barza (f. 154b); 3. Tas visits the sorceress Susan's marquee (f. 157b); 4. Rustam and Barza liberate the Iranian heroes from captivity (f. 167b).

The first miniature represents the scene in which Barzta's mother arrives at the

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218



THE MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF THE BARZU-NAMA

battlefield. She tells Rustam, who has defeated the prostrate Barz-a and has raised his knife for the last stab, that Barza is Suhrab's son, i.e., Rustam's grandson - the progeny of Sam and NarTman. The excitement, terseness, and drama of the scene as well as the characters' emotional state are conveyed by the painter through graphical means, i. e., plas- ticity and coloring.8

A panoramic impression is created in the miniature by virtue of its form - rectangle joined to a trapezium. The volume of the characters' figures and the details of the composition are rendered by means of chiaroscuro.

The proportions of the human figures in the miniatures' compositions are I to 5. The figures have long torsos and short legs, resembling the characters of early Shirazi miniatures.9 The body parts of the characters shown are disproportionate; for example, the hands are excessively long. The characters' facial emotions are produced by the raising of eyebrows, which is atypical for the Perisan miniatures of the classical period.

The coloring of the miniatures is based on the combination of bright, contrasting colors and tints applied to Qajar painting, specifically, yellow, orange, blue and the color of whitened kraplak. The latter dominates in the depictions of the characters and details of the composition. All of this is harmonious with the range of pastel colors in the main background. One particular detail attracts our attention, namely, all of the boots of the personages are yellow.

The second miniature depicts the scene of the feast given by Rustam in honor of his grandson Barzu.'0 The Iranian heroes Tns, Gudarz, Giv, and Gustaham are shown seated in armchairs by tables on which Europian- style carafes of green glass and crystal gob- lets are placed. The scene is situated in the interior of a veranda overlooking the neigh- bouring mountains. A golden staircase decorated with a picture of a serpent leading to the garden visually extends the frames of the

composition of the miniature. In the window- opening there are fluttering vermilion-colored drapery curtains with golden borders

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Rustam throws a feast In honor of Rarzu (f. 154b)

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Rustam and Barzu liberate the Iranian heros from captivity (f. 154b)

219



RACHEL GOLDENWEISER

against a background of a mountain landscape with birds flying in groups." The landscape is constructed by taking into account linear and aerial perspective.

In the composition of this miniature there is an attempt to individualize the portraits of the personages, which is characteristic to the Qajar miniature. We easily recognize Rustam by his costume, thick long beard and eyes. His pose is traditional for a seated ruler in Oriental art.12

Repeated here is the color range of the previous miniature with its predominance of Titian tinting. In various places the composition is exhilarated by silver and gold, such as in the decorations of the costume accessories and in the elements of armor and furniture.

The third miniature is the episode of Ttas's visit to the sorceress Susan. It illustrates the part of the poem where Tas, having quarreled with Gidarz, leaves the feast and, attracted by a magical light, comes upon Susan's marvelous marquee embroi- dered with gold and silver.

In this composition we find a combination of the traditional treatment of the com- ponents of the miniature with the new technique of linear and aerial perspective utilized in the constructed background. The marquee is appliqued to a landscape sup- plemented with architectural staffage, which is adopted from European painting. Susan's accomplice Pilsam and his horse are painted as if they are standing on the house-tops.'3 The scale of the combination between the parts of the miniature is unbalanced, and the reproduced size of the figures achieved by means of chiaroscuro is combined with the treatment of the decorated parts of the composition, such as the marquee's fabric, the horsecloths. the carpet, etc.

The emotional mood of the personages of the composition, which is reproduced visually, supplements the coloring of the miniature. It is accomplished by several actively-colored patches, such as the blinding white of Susan's marquee, the brilliant colors of its decoration, the bright colors of the costumes and the vivid ochre patch of the architectural background.

The fourth miniature illustrates that chapter of the Barzo-NAma in which the Iranian heroes Giv, Gudarz, Tas and Gustaham are liberated from Turanian captivity by Rustam and Barzn. The composition of the miniature is divided vertically into two parts. On the right is Rustam at the head of the Iranian army, and on the left are the defeated Turanians, forced into flight and firing back. In the proscenium to the left are the captive Iranian heroes with chains on their necks. Susan is standing next to her marquee. Her accomplice Pilsam is overtaken by Rustam's cudgel. The scene takes place against the background of a mountain landscape.

This composition is characterized by a new approach of representing human figures and animals and their special positions, which is typical for Qajar art. There are some poses more characteristic of Europian paintings of battle scenes than of traditional Oriental miniatures, such as the pictures of enraged horses as well as the pro- files of the personages represented in complicated foreshortenings. The coloring of the composition is quite similar to the previous miniature, except for the richness of a light-rose color (pompadour) in te landscape background anld the aforementioned white localized spot of the marquee, which is balanced by a mosaic of costumes and battle flag colors.

The miniatures are painted in gouache with the use of gold and silver. The contour of the elements of the composition is outlined by a thin line (if. 263a, 277a, et

220



THE MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF THE BARZUI-NAMA

al.) and then painted in local color. The contour line is seen in the spots where the paint is damaged. The chiaroscuro of the voluminous details of the composition is achieved by hatching the overshaded spots with a darker color. Another peculiarity of these miniatures is their format which does not have the clearly outlined contours of a customary rectangle. The background of the composition often protrudes into intercolumnal space and the marginal notes.

Thus, the compositions of the miniatures attain panorama and allow the the onlooker to extend and supplement them visually. The above-referenced elements of graphical and aerial perspective in the construction of the composition background are also crucial to this purpose. This method also occurs in earlier Persian illustrated manuscripts (1 5th- 1 6th centuries), but here, in combination with aforementioned new graphical forms, it is the sign of a new stage in the development of the Persian miniature. However, we should not regard the existence of these forms as a result of the influence of European art. It has often been noted by scholars that the very course of the development of Iranian art paved the way for these later forms, starting with 16th century Tabrizi miniatures.14

.. _ _

The bookbinding of ms. Lacquer. Farisian style. XIX century

There is one more important feature of the miniatures in question, i. e. the above- referenced attempt to reproduce the facial emotions of the personages through graphical means. That phenomenon is characteristic of many well-known master- pieces of Qajar art."5

The pictures of animals, particularly horses, in the miniatures of the manuscript are notable for their realism by reproducing anatomical peculiarities, and they are typical for traditional Persian miniature foreshortening (ff. 4-5, 157b, 167b, etc.). The treatment of the eyes of these animals is very interesting: they are round and expressive, and they often supplement the impression of the horsemen's emotional state. This is clearly observed, for example, in thie miniature which illustrates the lib- eration of the Iranlian heroes (f. 1 67a). It should be noted that although there are manly personages and horses in the composition of the battle scenes, nevertheless, the tracing of poses and gestures of the personages is not observed.

Surprising also in these miniatures the variety of images and the precision and detailing in the reproduction of the dynamics as well as the realistic (conditionally,

21



RACHEL GOLDENWEISER

of course) approach to their treatment. Here we should note that naturalism and hyperbole are not utilized in the representation of the battle scenes. In massive battle scenes as well as in the heroes' duels, the tension of the battle is reproduced by a set of graphical means, particularly by the expression and dynamnics of poses and by a singularity of coloristic resolutions. Incidentally, the latter is of great significance in the compositions of the miniatures. Just in the coloring alone a new style characteristic of the singularity of the Qajar painter is reflected. This cycle of illustrations is rendered in the Qajar style, which signifies a new stage in the development of Iranian miniature painting.

Herewith the stream of the new style, with its singularity of rhythm in the miniatures' compositions does not affect in any way the initial relations between the personages and action. On the basic of these relations there is a unique binary iconographical scheme traditional to the whole complex of traditional Iranian art. This is the eternal struggle between good and evil.

The illustrations of the interpolation as well as its text, having passed through such stages as verbal recitation, then partial folk- lorization and finally a return to written cre- ation (of a qualitatively new variation for the period under consideration), attain here a new visual interpolation. Here the indispens- able condition is the complicity of the well- prepared observer in the process of percep- tion of the compositions of the interpolations. It seems to us that our examination of one of the rarest copies of the Shahnana existing in the Matenadaran collection (and possibly in the world) has enlarged our conception about the illustrative cycle of this interpolation, particularly when one considers that the Barzo-n7na has not been studied enough both in the history of Persian literature and in the constituent manuscript codices of miniatures illustrating this interpolation.

Thus, the miniatures of the Barz-namna contained in the 1830 A. D. copy of Firdausi's ShAhnlma, manuscript no. 535 of the Matenadaran collection, are of great interest to scholars - first, as specimens of rarely illustrated theme; second, as exam- ples of Qajar miniature painting; and third, as the work of an undoubtedly great artist. Further research and the systematization of the materials utilized in the comparative analysis of the illustrations to the interpolations will permit us to expand our conception about (a) these stories, which have frequently attracted the attention of minia- tunrsts at different stages in the development of the Persian miniature and (b) their compositional methods and fulfillment.

Such analysis and resulting conclusions will undoubtedly yield vital material for the history of Iranian art overall.

222

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TWs -s visit to sorceress Susan (f_7b)H.1 i



THE MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF THE BARZU-NAMA

NOTES

1. See: F. Wolff. Glossar zu Firdosis Schahname. Hildesheim, 1965; C. Huart. Le livre de Garshasp. Paris, 1926) t. 1; H. Masse. Le livre de Garshasp. Paris, 1951. t. II; A. G. Warner and E. Warner. The Shahnama of Ferdausi done into English, 9 vols. London, 1905-15. E. E. Bertel's remarks on the paucity and insufficient study of these poems which, without further research, does not enable one to say anything definite about them or to concretize the chronolog- ical boundes of the process of cyclization. See: II. H. BepTetbc, Hcmropua nepcuOcco- mraei9cuK.cioi .lumrepamypbt. MOCKBa, 1969, c. 237.

2. The oldest text of the Barzo-nama in the countries of the C. I. S. is considered by scholars to be contained in manuscript no. NPS. "New Persian Series" 1654, date 849 A. H., preserved in the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St.- Petersburg.

3. State Public Librbay ("SPL") New Persian Series, Institute of Oriental Studies. St.- Petersburg. 4. JI. T. rIo3arIAH H M. M. JAMKOHOB. Pyconucu `JJJax-Hawe" o .zeHuHzpadcKux co6paGHux.

MocKBa-JIeHHHrpaX, 1935; ibid., Ipaucuue muHuamrn0pbt 6 py#oncRx "IJIax-Haswe" aeHuHapa9c1iUx co6paHrUR.X. MOCKBa-JIeHIHHrpam, 1935.

5. T. Norgren and E. Davis, comp., Preliminary Index of "Shah-nama" Illustations, intro. by 0. Grobar. Ann Arbor, 1969.

6. It is well-known that in the British Library collection there are copies of the Shah-nama containing illustrations to the Barzr-nama interpolation. Add 6610. C. Rieu. Catalogue of the persian MVanuscripts in the British Museum. Vols. 1-3, Suppl., London, 1879-1895, vol. 2, p. 538, BL; Or. 371. Rieu, vol. 2, p. 540, BL, in Miniatures from Persian M1anuscripts: A Catalogue and Subject Index of Paintings from Persia, India and Turkey in the British Library and British Museum by Norah M. Titley. 1London. 1977; 73 Ms. Minutoli 134. W, Pensch, Verzeichnis der persisehen Handschrifien der K6nigslichen Bibliothek zu Berlin, Berlin 1888, Bs. !V, Nr. 700; J. Kraemer, PersisCh Miniaturen und ihr Umkreis. Buch and Sch0ftunst arabischer, persischer, turkischer und indischer Handscriften aus dem Besitz des friiheren Preussischen Staats und der Tiibingen Universitatsbibliothek. Tiubingen, 1956, Nr. 52- in Illuminierte Islamisch Handschiften. Beschrieben von. 1. Stchoukine, B. Fleming, P. Luft, H. Sohrweide. Wiesbaden, 1971, p. 203 The same story is illustated in the manuscript SPL NPS 131 (f. 236b) copy of the Shah-nama in which 46 miniatures are characterized by scholars as Indian-type miniatures of a rather crude workmanship with explicatory inscriptions. See: 1io3aJUIH 'I. T., JbSKOHOB M. M. PyKonucu "Ltax-Ha-me".

7. This manuscript is first mentioned in print by A. Shakhnazarian. See: OOHa U3 pyiconuceui "IHax-Ha,we" Foc..Py3eae Ap.eHuu 6 c6opHuxe, nocoiiuReHnuo.U 1000-.iemuro (PupOoycu. EpeBaH, 1934. Also, see: Te3ucbit 9oiizaaoo III Bcecobo3HoU KicOHcbepeHL1uu "Hccu.ycMro u apxeoiooua Hlpana u ezo CE3R3b c uccnycmoo. Hapoi9oo CCCP c 9peeHeuwux opem.eu MOCKBa, 1979, cc. 9- 1.

8. See analogies: B. W. Robinson. Persian Drawings from 14th through 19th Century. New York, 1965, ibid., Persian Miniature Paintingfrom Nollections in the British Isles. London, 1967; ibid., The Court Painters of Fath'Ali Shah, Eretz Israel VII. Jerusalem, 1963, pp. 54-105; ibid., Persian Royal Portraiture and the Qajars in Qajar Iran: Political, Social and Cultural Change 1800- 1925. Edinburgh, 1983, pp. 291-31 1: S. J. Falk. Qajar painting and Persian Oil Paintings of the 18th-19th Centuries. London, 1972: ibid., Persian Painting in Qajar Period in Highlights of Persian Art, ed. by Richard Ettinghausen et al.. Boulder, Co., 1979, pp. 331-362: S. Babaie. Shah' Abbas II, The Conquest of Qandahar, The Chihil Sutun and its Wall Paintings. Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture, ed. by Gulru Necipoglu. Leiden, 1994, vol. II, pp. 125- 142.

9. See: G. W. Benjamin. Persia and the Persians. Boston, 1896; 1. Bishop. Journeys into Persia and Kurdistan. New York anld London, 1891, Calligraphy and decoration Arts of Islam. London, 1976; 5. J. Falk. Qajar Painting. London, 1972; H. Goetz. The Histoty of Persian Costume in Surave of Persian Art, pp. 2227-2256; F. E. Polak. Persien. Das Land und seine Bewohner, 2 vols.. Leipzig, 1865; Layla S. Diba, Clothintg in the Safavid and Qajar Periods in Encyclopaedia Iranica, ed. by Ehsan Yarshater. New York and London, 1992, vol. V, pp. 800-808; ibid., Lacquerwork in The Arts of Persia, ed. by R. W. Ferrier. New Haven and London, 1989, pp. 243-

223



RACHEL GOLDE_NWESER

253; S. Canby. Persian Painting. London and New York, 1993, pp. 117-124. 10. The same plot is denoted in the illustations of the manuscript SPL NPS 333.. Dorn. 318-319, p.

434, a copy of the Shahnama dated 1642-51 A. D. and written for Shah' Abbas II. See: rP3oTIAH,

AlbAKOHOB, PyKonucu "Ilax-Hae ...., c. 78. 11. The nearest analogy to this miniature is the composition, in which Rustam and other Iranian war-

riors are shown in the interior of a marquee in a Qajar Shahnama from Sotheby's Catalogue of Fine Oriental Manuscripts, London, Apr. 1979, p. 46, ill. 86; ibid, London, Oct. 1971. p. 118, ill. 54; ibid, Apr. 1978, London, p. 27, ill. 51. Note the treatment of the main personages, their costumes, European furniture, etc.

12. 1II. AMHpaHaIBHJIIZ. HpaHcKaR IuoGonuCb XVIII-XIX as. T6H.JHCH, 1941, c. 6; B. Gray. Persian Painting. JIoiHAOH, 1930, P. 83.

13. B. W. Robinson. The Court Painters of Fath' Ali Shah p. 104, pl. XXXVII et passim. 14. 1O. a. XycicnBaj13e. Hooue xyOo3cecmoeuuHbse men9efl4uu no3i89cupaHcKvou muuuamiopu B

C6opmHKe Hcciycmoo u apxeomosua HpaHa. MOCICBa, 1976, C.223; HI. AMpBpHaMBHUII, HpaHcKaA cmamro6aA vfouonuCb. T6H.IRHCH, 1990, c. 21 et al...

15. 1o3aamii, 1bJKOHOB. HpaHclcue MuHuamiopbs... c. 86, tu.ai. 50; A. T. AjaMoBa. HepcuacKaa Icu6on.uCb XVIII-nepoou noaoOuHbI XIX oa. JIeHHHrpa&, 1971, c. 17 et sq.

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The Miniature Paintings of the Barzū-Nāma: An Illustrated Interpolation to a Qajar Shāhnama from Matenadaran Collection