Beaker

Object Details

• Description

  Beaker of slightly spreading cylindrical form on a low foot rim; broken and repaired.

  Clay: soft, white.

  Glaze: white, stanniferous.

  Decoration painted in red, blue, grayish-yellow and pale green enamels over glaze: Bizhan and Manizha from the Shahnamah.

• Label

  This celebrated beaker is the only known object from the Islamic world that is illustrated with a complete narrative cycle from the Shahnama, the Persian Book of Kings. Organized in horizontal bands, the small but highly detailed images recount the adventures of Bizhan and Manizha, beginning with Firdawsi's beloved telling the story. The climax in the narrative appears in the lower register and depicts Rustam rescuing Bizhan from the pit where he has been imprisoned by the Turanian king Afrasiyab, Manizha's evil father. This pictorial cycle predates any other depictions of the Bizhan and Manizha romance by some one hundred years.

  It is interesting to note that the adventures of the two lovers appear on a drinking cup, a vessel of particular ritual significance in royal banquets during the ancient and Islamic periods.

• Provenance

  1928

  Parish-Watson Company, New York 1928 [1]

  From 1928

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Parish-Watson Company, New York in 1928 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file, undated folder sheet note. Also see Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  The Heroic Past: The Persian Book of Kings (June 4 to October 29, 2000)

  Arts of the Islamic World (May 3, 1998 to January 3, 2016)

  Islamic Art (May 9, 1993 to June 3, 1997)

  Near Eastern Ceramics (May 10, 1985 to September 3, 1985)

  Near Eastern Ceramics (June 24, 1982 to September 23, 1982)

  Near Eastern Ceramics (May 14, 1981 to May 10, 1985)

  Art of the Near East (August 21, 1977 to December 14, 1979)

  Ceramics from the World of Islam (January 16, 1974 to July 1, 1974)

  2500 Years of Persian Art—Paintings, Pottery (February 10, 1972 to June 15, 1973)

  Near Eastern Art—Paintings, Pottery (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)

  Near Eastern Art (June 5, 1964 to August 18, 1967)

  Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 6 and 7 (February 25, 1956 to April 10, 1962)

  Special Exhibition (February 9, 1954 to April 20, 1954)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Arts, 1947 (October 6, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Paintings (May 1, 1945 to September 25, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, Islamic Ceramics and Glass (January 9, 1945 to May 1, 1945)

  Untitled Exhibition, Persian Paintings and Ceramics (May 5, 1933 to January 9, 1945)

  Untitled Exhibition, Shahnama and Chinese Art (March 24, 1930 to May 5, 1933)

  Near Eastern Pottery and Persian Painting (May 2, 1923 to March 14, 1931)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Parish-Watson Company

• Origin

  Kashan, Iran

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 04: Engaging the Senses

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s, 1200s

• Name

  Parish-Watson Company

• Place

  Kashan

• Topic

  Mina'i ware, Art, Bijan, Rustam, Gurgin, Arts of the Islamic World, Manija, Stone-paste, Saljuq period (1037 - 1300), Ceramics, Shahnama

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians, Afrasiyabs

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes