The sixteenth century was the pinnacle of classical painting in Iran.
The Shahs of the Safavid dynasty created for themselves a life-style of unequalled beauty and luxury, and the artists who served them captured it all - lovers and warriors, hawks and gazelles, palaces, fountains and gardens - in miniatures of exquisite detail. With techniques still unknown to us, they applied lapis lazuli, malachite, silver and gold to their small paintings, giving them a purity and intensity of tone that has rarely been equalled.

The five manuscripts in this volume painted for the Shahs themselves between 1522 and 1565 - represent the flower of the Persian miniature style. In his text Stuart Cary Welch, Honorary Curator of Manuscripts at the Harvard College Library and Lecturer in the Fine Arts at Harvard University, describes the historical development of the Safavid rule, and his commentaries on the paintings both illuminate the narrative and place the pictures themselves in the larger context of Persian painting.

20.5cm x 28cm, 127 pages, Softcover, 1978 (Condition: Very Good)

Condition Definition:
As New / Fine = New or almost without defect
Very Good = Showing signs of wear
Good / Fair = A bit worn but complete, with defects noted
Poor = worn with visible defects