Bahman and the Gelim-Gush. - Lot 99

Bahman and the Gelim-Gush. Iran qâjar, 19th century. Manuscript page on paper illustrating the text of a Bahman-nama (Epic of Bahman). Six-column text in nasta'liq script in black ink, 31 lines per page. Polychrome gouache depicting the episode of Bahman sending a delegation, with camels as gifts, to the Gelim- Gush, a people of monsters living in the mountains, characterized by their huge ears. Camels and horses in foreground. Page size: 38.5 x 26 cm; written surface: 29.8 x 18.4 cm; painting: 14.5 x 18.4 cm. This page comes from a Bahman-nameh, an Iranian epic poem of 9,500 verses, written in Persian by Iranshah b. Abi Kayr around 1092-1108, recounting the adventures of Bahman, son of Esfandiyar. The manuscript from which this page comes, scattered on the French market for decades, contains several epic poems, including the Shah-nameh, in which it was interspersed with other stories