Khosrow Discovers Shirin at her Bath

Datemid 16th century

Label TextA tale of tragically thwarted lovers, the story of Khusrow and Shirin was the Romeo and Juliet of its day—predating the Shakespearean story by more than 400 years. The version illustrated here was written by the poet Nizami in the late 12th century, based on an historical epic codified 200 years earlier. Here, the Persian king Khusrow spies the lovely Shirin bathing, but although he has already fallen in love with her picture, he does not recognize the living woman before him. The two continue to search for one another, and try to win the other’s love, for decades—through war, marriage, and betrayal. Ultimately, the would-be lovers die with their love unconsummated.

One story based on historical figures from the Shahnama is that of Khusrau and Shirin. Khusrau is a Sasanian king, and Shirin an Armenian princess whose beauty and virtue are famed far and wide. Khusrau is determined to find her, and his desire starts a chain of events that includes mistaken identity, betrayal and penitence and finally leads to the physical and spiritual union of the two lovers.

In one of the most often illustrated scenes from the Khusrau and Shirin romance, Khusrau, having set out to find Shirin in Armenia, passes a young maiden bathing in a pool. He stops to spy on her and is arrested by her beauty. He has no idea that he is actually gazing on Shirin, the object of his quest. The image shows Khusrau on horseback in the upper right, his finger held to the side of his mouth in a gesture of amazement, awed by Shirin's beauty. Shirin, oblivious to his presence, continues to bathe, as her horse stands nearby drinking from the river. The water would originally have been silver, which has tarnished over time, and would have complemented the luminous gold sky behind Khusrau. Small details like Shirin's clothing draped over a tree add to the intimacy of the scene, although the figures themselves do not display much emotion, frozen in an ideal landscape.

Object number50.69

Provenance[Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, by 1950]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum (Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection), February 16, 1950

Photo CreditPhoto: Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistoryRome, Italy, Palazzo Brancacciom Exhibition of Iranian Art, 1956 Paris, France, Petit Palais, 7,000 Years of Art in Iran, October 1961 - January 1962. Essen, Germany, Villa Huegelm 7,000 Years of Art in Iran, February - April 1962 Den Haag, Netherlands, Gemeente Museum, 7,000 Years of Art in Iran, 1962 Zurich, Switzerland, Kunsthaus, 7,000 Years of Art in Iran, 1962 Vienna, Austria, Osterreichische Mus. Fur Angewandte Kunst: "7,000 Years of Art in Iran," 1963 Milan, Italy, Palazzo Reale,7,000 Years of Art in Iran, May - June 1963. Seattle, Washington, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, The Warp and Weft of Islam, March 10 - April 15, 1978 (Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Fall 1979)Published References"Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections." Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 22 (b&w) S.A.M. Guild Engagement Calendar, 1953, no. 7. Palazzo Brancaccio, Rome, Mostra d'arte Iranica/Exhibition of Iranian Art, 1956, p. 276, no. 515 Nakai, Ghods. Sept Mille Ans d'Art en Iran. Paris: Petit Palais, 1961; p. 197, no. 1103. Villa Hugel, Essen, 7,000 Jahre Kunst in Iran, 1962, no. 591. Palazzo Reale, Milan, 7,000 Anni d'Arte Iranica, 1963, p. 182, no. 624. Osterreichisches Mus. Fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Kunstschatze aus Iran, 1963, no. 686. Rogers, Millard B. "Engagement Book: Iranian Art in the Seattle Art Museum," Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1972, fig. 45. S.A.M. Engagement Book, Iranian Art, 1973, #45. "Middle East Studies Association Bulletin," Vol. 22, No. 1 (July 1988), Middle East Studies Association of North America, cover illus.

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions11 3/4 x 7 5/16 in. (29.9 x 18.6 cm)

MediumInk, color, gold, and silver on paper