"Bahram Gur in the Yellow Palace on Sunday", Folio 213 from a Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami of Ganja

Art Historical Context

This exquisite folio, painted in 1524–25, comes from a lavishly illustrated manuscript of the *Khamsa* (Quintet), the celebrated collection of romantic and heroic poems by the twelfth-century Persian author Nizami of Ganja. The scene portrays the Sasanian king Bahram Gur visiting the Yellow Palace on Sunday, one of seven color-coded palaces in the tale where the monarch encounters different princesses. Created during the early Safavid period, the page captures the refined courtly culture of sixteenth-century Iran, where literature, storytelling, and visual splendor intertwined. Executed in ink, opaque watercolor, silver, and gold on paper, the miniature exemplifies the intricate techniques of Persian manuscript painting. Artists Sultan Muhammad Nur, Shaikh Zada, and Mahmud Muzahib employed delicate brushwork and luminous metallic pigments to render the architectural interior, richly patterned textiles, and elegantly posed figures. Such codices were treasured objects, often commissioned for royal libraries and passed between generations as symbols of cultural prestige. Now in the Metropolitan Museum’s Islamic Art collection, this folio offers visitors a vivid window into both literary imagination and artistic mastery. Its intimate scale—measuring just 7½ by 4½ inches—invites close looking, revealing the harmonious blend of poetry, painting, and storytelling that defined Persian visual culture.