Lohrāsp Speaks with His Son Goštāsp

Lohrāsp, dressed in vermillion, is seated on his throne on the left side of the painting, drinking from a shallow cup. Seated before him, on the right side, are two young men, one in yellow, the other in purple, who are engaged with him in conversation. They can be identified as Lohrāsp’s two sons Goštāsp and Zarir. The foreground is covered with what appears to be a beige-colored arabesque carpet, on which are placed, near the center, two decanters and two dishes of food. Seated in the lower left are two musicians, one dressed in vermillion, the other in blue. Directly behind the shah, on the left, stand two servant girls wearing tiaras and shawls. Their heads are canted in the Moʿin manner, and one carries a flacon on a tray. The walls of Lohrāsp’s palace, which serve as a backdrop for the shah and two girls, are faced with beige and mauve tiles, and above are three panels decorated with finely painted birds in blue and crimson. In the right background the observer has a view outside the palace of a garden with a tree, which acts as a backdrop for two turbaned male cupbearers, who stand directly behind the two princes holding long-necked flacons close to their waists. One is dressed in purple, the other in vermillion.

Painting: 23.5 x 11.5 cm. Twenty-three lines of text plus one chapter heading written on a diagonal across the top and halfway down the left side. Twenty-five lines of text, also written on a diagonal but on the opposite incline, commence at the midpoint on the left side and continue to the bottom, and then across the bottom. Additionally, a single line, written horizontally, appears in each of the four corners of the painting. Gilt interlinear decoration permeates the text. Frame encloses painting and text. No indications of damage or retouching. Signed very faintly in the lower margin in miniscule characters: raqam-e kamina moʿin-e moṣavver.

Location:
Present whereabouts unknown. Formerly in the Rothschild Collection.

Painting references:
Robinson, Colnaghi_1976, p.78, no.55iii (ill. in color), where it is identified as “Lohrāsp’s Coronation Feast”.

Text references:
Warner, IV, pp.318-19; Mohl, IV, pp.225-26; Levy, pp.181-82.

Robert Eng
Last Updated: March 30, 2011. Originally published: March 30, 2011