# "Bahram Gur Pins the Coupling Onagers", Folio 568r from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

**Abu'l Qasim Firdausi** (Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus)  
ca. 1530–35  
Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper  
Painting: H. 11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm) W. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm) Page: H. 18 9/16 in. (47.1 cm) W. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm) Mat: H. 22 in. (55.9 cm) W. 16 in. (40.6 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970.301.62. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452171).

## About this work

The Sasanian king Bahram Gur takes his nickname from the gur, or onager, the wild ass he loved to hunt. In this episode from Ferdowsi’s Shahnama he demonstrates his legendary marksmanship by pinning a pair of mating onagers together with a single arrow. Hunting scenes of this kind allowed painters to celebrate a king’s strength and skill while filling the page with galloping horses and animals in a sweeping landscape. The page comes from the Shahnama made for Shah Tahmasp at the Safavid court, one of the most celebrated illustrated manuscripts of the Islamic world.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Abu'l Qasim Firdausi painted this in about 1530–35. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Ink on paper.** Ink made from soot and animal glue, ground with water on an inkstone. A single brush can give a hair-fine line or a broad wash, and nothing can be corrected.

### [Abu'l Qasim Firdausi](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/abu-l-qasim-firdausi)

Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus

## Facts

- Type: Codices
- Real size: about 19 × 13 in (47 × 32 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Animals, Men, Hunting, Horses
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1235.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1235/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/bahram-gur-pins-the-coupling-onagers-folio-568r-from-the-sha-met-452171).