نشستن کیخسرو بر پیل و برگذشتن سپاه پیش او

Persian Painting

نشستن کیخسرو بر پیل و برگذشتن سپاه پیش او ، نسخه خطی شاهنامه، پادشاهی کیخسرو شصت سال بود، شیراز، 1561-1562 میلادی
Kay Khusraw Reviews His Army
ink,opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, 
measuring 14 2/3 by 9 1/2 inches
is from a manuscript copy of the Shahnama 
made in Shiraz in the Fars province of Iran in 1561-62.
The Shahnama (Book of Kings), completed by Firdawsi in 1010, is an account in verse of Iran’s glorious history, a national epic. This painting, Kay Khusraw Reviews His Army—of ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper, measuring 14 2/3 by 9 1/2 inches—is from a manuscript copy of the Shahnama made in Shiraz in the Fars province of Iran in 1561-62. The poem is much concerned with themes of heroism, courage, and royal legitimacy, and hunting narratives are frequent. In a composition full of animation, the painter added elements not in Firdawsi’s text to illustrate the complementary nature of hunting and warfare because both confirmed the legitimacy of Kay Khusraw, an exemplar of a just leader. Atop his white elephant, he reviews his troops before they depart for battle. The whiteness of the elephant, curator Kimberly Masteller says, is allegorical, “but light-colored elephants were the highest prize in the royal stable.”
نخستین فریبرز بد پیش رو
که بگذشت پیش جهاندار نو
ابا گرز و با تاج و زرینه کفش
پس پشت خورشید پیکر درفش
یکی باره‌ای برنشسته سمند
بفتراک بر حلقه کرده کمند
همی رفت با باد و با برز و فر
سپاهش همه غرقه در سیم و زر
برو آفرین کرد شاه جهان
که بیشی ترا باد و فر مهان
بهر کار بخت تو پیروز باد
بباز آمدن باد پیروز و شاد
پس شاه گودرز کشواد بود
که با جوشن و گرز پولاد بود
درفش از پس پشت او شیر بود
که جنگش بگرز و بشمشیر بود