Persian miniature of battle scene (calligraphy on reverse)

17th century

This battle scene, taken from a volume of epic or historic tales, sweeps the viewer's eye from right to left across the page. From the act of a soldier beheading his enemy to the reaction of his fellow warrior in the foreground, the call and response of troops and the undulations of the landscape, even to the flowing of the flags that spill from the frame into the margins-the composition "reads" from right to left, just as Arabic and Persian texts are read.

Opaque watercolor, ink, silver and gold on paper

11 x 6 1/4 in. (27.94 x 15.88 cm)

Gift of Catherine and Ralph Benkaim

96.29

Not currently on view

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM