Among Zoroastrian burial items, there is a camel-shaped zoomorphic OSTADON lying there. It was found…
In miniature painting, for the first time in the medieval Oriental art, the theme of labor was covered in detail by Behzad in miniatures depicting the construction of the Bibi-Khanum mosque (see fig.) and the Khavarnak castle in this manuscript.
Before Behzad, only one plot by Ferdowsi Jamshid teaching the people crafts (The Shah-nama. 1430. Tehran. The Gulistan Palace Library), depicted masters in Muslim miniature only in one plot by Ferdowsi – a weaver, a gunsmith, tailor, blacksmith, carver, etc. Behzad showed a detailed labor process with full knowledge of this matter. The plot Construction of the Khavarnak Castle is borrowed from Nizami's poem Haft Payqar (Seven Beauties), which is part of the Khamsa.
The architect Simnar, on the orders of Bahram, worked for five years on the construction of the castle, which, after the completion of the construction, amazed everyone with its magical beauty, changing color depending on the time of day and weather. In the text of Nizami, an extremely conditional description of the castle is given – he compares it with a dream. Behzad, as in the case of the illustration for the Zafar-nama by Yezdi, is attracted by the opportunity to show the construction process, which he may have observed in Herat, where many beautiful structures were being built in his time. By slightly changing the composition, diversifying the images of the builders even more, he creates a dynamic picture of labor replete with realistic details.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "The legacy of Kamal ud-din Behzad in the World Collections" (L volume) in the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".
The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
