Main content
Course: Special topics in art history > Unit 1
Lesson 5: The many forms of iconoclasm- The Severan Tondo: Damnatio Memoriae in ancient Rome
- Making and Mutilating Manuscripts of the Shahnama
- Alexander, the Mongols, and the great epic of Iran
- The Court of Gayumars
- Paradise in miniature, The Court of Kayumars — part 1
- Paradise in miniature, The Court of Kayumars — part 2
- Iconoclasm in the Netherlands in the Sixteenth Century
- Submerged, burned, and scattered: celebrating the destruction of objects in South Asia
- “Creative iconoclasm”: a tale of two monasteries
- Destruction as Preservation: Ai Weiwei’s Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn
- Robert Rauschenberg, Erased de Kooning Drawing
- Saved by shipwreck, The Antikythera Youth
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Paradise in miniature, The Court of Kayumars — part 2
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto showcases a celebrated Iranian painting from the Shahnameh, a large book dedicated to Shah Tahmasp. This painting depicts the harmonious kingdom of the first king, Kayumars, and the diverse court. It's a symbol of Iranian culture and history, reflecting a peaceful civilization. Sultan Muhammad (attributed), The Court of Kayumars (Safavid: Tabiz, Iran), c. 1524–1525, from the Shah Tahmasp Shahnameh, c. 1524–35, opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper, 45 x 30 cm (Aga Khan Museum, Toronto) speakers: Dr. Filiz Çakir Phillip, Curator, Aga Khan Museum and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Steven Zucker and Smarthistory.
Want to join the conversation?
- why are there 2 parts of this(4 votes)
- Probably a typo since they're two different videos.(2 votes)
- Where is the museum?(1 vote)
- The Aga Khan Museum is in Toronto, Canada.(2 votes)
Video transcript
(jazzy piano music) - [Narrator] We're in the
Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, standing in front of a case that holds one of the most
celebrated Iranian paintings, but this is not a painting that was meant to be seen in isolation. This was originally a folio,
a page in a very large book. - [Filiz] It is from the
manuscript of Shahnameh, Book of Kings, which was
dedicated for Shah Tahmasp, who was the second
ruler of Safavid dynasty in Iran in early 16th century. - [Narrator] And that dynasty
was especially important because it had reunited Iran, which had been fragmented
immediately before. What's being represented
here is this first kingdom that was so harmonious that
we might even look at it as a kind of paradise. - [Filiz] We have different physiognomy, so we have Central Asian-looking
faces, we have brown faces. It was important for Sultan Mohammed to depict many variety as possible, who are included in the court of Kayumars. - [Narrator] So what we're
looking at is the first kingship, one that is described as
being a place of harmony, so much so that even the
wild animals are tame, and if you look closely, you
can see a man holding a lion. - [Filiz] This is the
depiction of harmony, but on the other hand,
maybe we should go back and ask ourself, who was
Kayumars for the Iranian history? And Shahnameh is book which
was written by Ferdowsi, and it was important for him to document after the Arabic invasion, with the fears of we are losing our tradition and we are going to be
introduced into another culture and then how we can protect
and support our own culture, so this was the main idea of Ferdowsi. Kayumars is, in that
regard, is very important because Kayumars is
immortal, mythological king, but he decides to give up his immortality. He has the same equal
quality and importance when we compare with Adam. - [Narrator] The highest
figure is Kayumars. He's at the top of a triangle of figures and seems to almost float
above the landscape. The composition here is so complicated and there are so many
figures that are within it, but our eye always goes back to the king. - [Filiz] He's sitting on
the throne, but behind him is the cave, so this is the
beginning of human civilization. When I look at Kayumars and this peaceful, harmonious painting, I see
his dedication for humans. So he has chosen, and
then he dedicates himself for human society, and then,
looking at in a painting, which is a part of a manuscript dedicated to educate the next generation
rulers, how to behave, how to become a good ruler,
and celebrate justice, it is a really fantastic decision that we should be grateful for that, and we have contemporaneous sources, which explain Sultan Mohammed was working on this magnificent painting
more than three years, and I think we should
celebrate it and take time and look at in depth. (jazzy piano music)