Persian

Four Polo Players, Late 19th c.?
Tempera
12 x 8.25 in
SKU: DB2001d
$1,950
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The present illuminated folio page contains a fine miniature depicting four figures playing polo. Polo, also called 'chagun,' was the sport of kings and princes of central Asia and Iran, and the sport probably originated there in the 6th century BCE. Polo matches appear in a large number of early Persian texts, including in the writings of the 10th century epic writer Abu l-Qasim al-Firdawsi: He describes numerous polo matches in his famous 'Shahnameh' (The Persian Book of Kings). This particular illumination also is closely related to an example held at the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art: a folio from 'Guy u Chawgan' (The ball and the polo-mallet) which shows a polo game with the dervish and the shah.

12 x 8.25 inches, artwork
19.75 x 15.88 inches, frame
accompanied on the back with an image of the verso
framed to conservation standards with a 100% rag silk-lined mat in a gold gilded frame

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