Bahram Gur Punishing Azadeh
1341?
Prince Bahram Gur once fell in love with a lyre-playing slave girl named Azadeh. In the Sasanian Empire of ancient Persia (Iran), this was as unlikely—and unacceptable—as you would expect. The playboy prince took his beloved on a ride through the wilderness, and tried to impress her with his prowess as a hunter. A playful girl, she challenged the prince to an impossible feat of archery: binding two animals together with a single arrow. Surprised by his subsequent success, Azadeh broke into tears at the violence of the act. Enraged by her reaction—it was her challenge, and who was a slave girl to laugh at a prince, after all—Prince Bahram Gur decided to avenge his honor by trampling Azadeh with his mount. He never spoke of her again.
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper
11 7/16 x 9 5/8 in. (29 x 24.5 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
52.41
