"The Besotted Iranian Camp Attacked by Night", Folio 241r from the Sha

A Persian manuscript painting shows a crowded night battle among white and striped pavilions set against dark hills. Armored horsemen and foot soldiers in red, blue and green surge across the scene, with text in calligraphic columns across the top.

Look closer: Calligraphic poetry columns run across the top edge of the painted panel.

Artist

Abu'l Qasim Firdausi

Date

ca. 1525–30

Medium

Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

2632 × 3830 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 1970