Khosrow and Shirin

The Painting on Ivory depicts King Khosrow and Queen Shirin in the Garden Court and was constructed by Persian Rovhani during the 20th century. The lively scene makes its presence known in that it is vivid in its use of color yet uniform all the same, the text is included around the images rather than the other way around, and the individual events are separated into discrete horizontal sections yet are woven together seamlessly into the fabric of the scene. In addition, the narrative of the scene downplays the trials and tribulations of the courtship, perhaps because Nizami chose to focus on and highlight the romantic aspect of the tale. At first glance, one notices the conspicuous woman towards the top of the image, who is clad in blood…