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# 187. Folio from a Qur'an Date: 8th–9th century CE
Medium: Ink, color, and gold on parchment
Culture: Arab, North Africa or Near East (Abbasid)

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# 187. Folio from a Qur'an Date: 8th–9th century CE
Medium: Ink, color, and gold on parchment
Culture: Arab, North Africa or Near East (Abbasid)

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Form:

Kufic script with strong verticals and long horizontals

Gold chapter titles, brown ink, red diacritical marks

Clear, legible text for group reading

2:3 text block ratio; Arabic reads right to left

Gold discs mark verse endings

Function:

Used for Qur’an recitation, memorization, and teaching

Preserves and spreads the word of Islam

Content:

Holds part of the holy Qur’an

Focus is on the words, not pictures

Writing is neat and careful to honor God’s message

Context:

Qur’an codified 7th century; this folio from 9th

Calligraphy = highest art form for divine words

Vellum and gold show religious, wealth, and social value

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# 205. Portrait of Sin Sukju, Artist: Imperial Bureau of Painting (Joseon Dynasty court artists)Date: c. 15th century CEMedium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silkCulture/Period: Korean / Joseon Dynasty

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# 205. Portrait of Sin Sukju, Artist: Imperial Bureau of Painting (Joseon Dynasty court artists)Date: c. 15th century CEMedium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silkCulture/Period: Korean / Joseon Dynasty

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Form:

Painted on silk with ink and color

Full-body, seated pose in a scroll format

Fine lines in clothes, realistic face details

Frontal view with one ear showing (typical in Korean art)

Gold peacock badge shows high rank

Function:

Honors Sin Sukju for serving the king

Shows his rank and loyalty

Used in ancestor worship after death

Meant to keep his memory and values alive

Content (Simplified):

Sin Sukju sits in formal clothes with calm posture

Detailed face shows age and wisdom

Peacock badge shows his high status

Plain background keeps focus on him

Footstool and hat show formality

Context:

Sin Sukju was a top official and helped develop the Korean alphabet

Portraits like this were meant to show respect and loyalty

Often repainted to honor the person over time

Used in family rituals to remember and guide ancestors

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190. The Court of the Gayumars, folio from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama
Sultan Muhhamad, c. 1522-1525 C.E., Ink, Opaque Watercolor and Gold on Paper

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190. The Court of the Gayumars, folio from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama
Sultan Muhhamad, c. 1522-1525 C.E., Ink, Opaque Watercolor and Gold on Paper

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Context

From Shahnama, a Persian epic poem written 1000 C.E.

This page is part of a 258-page manuscript made during the Safavid dynasty.

Illustrates the mythical section (mythical, heroic, historical).

Created in the Royal Library Workshop over many years by teams of artists.

Reflects cultural exchange from the Mongol Empire (ideas, styles, goods).

Composed during the Iranian Revival, a peak of Persian art and literature.

Secular text documenting the glorified history of 50 Persian kings.

Serves as a symbol of national pride and cultural legacy.

Form

Lavishly illustrated with flicks and specs of gold; richly colored.

Large manuscript page, demonstrating elite craftsmanship.

Features 3 principal figures, many subsidiary figures, and embedded forms in rocks.

Dynamic composition: vegetation and rocks spill out of the frame to create depth.

Multi-colored rocks and lush paradise-like landscape.

Script is highly stylized and considered an art form itself.

Content

Kayumars, first king of Persia, is the central figure.

Depicted on a mountaintop above a waterfall and rich, fertile landscape.

Harmony shown through seated animals and peaceful setting.

Dramatic contrast: his son is shown dying, killed by the devil’s son.

Scene represents unity and tragedy—a culture coming together despite loss.

Function

Designed for contemplation and admiration; draws the viewer in.

Serves as historical and cultural preservation.

Acts as propaganda: highlights Kayumars’ greatness and unity he brought.

Demonstrates the power and sophistication of the Safavid court.

Honors Persian culture and passes history to future generations.

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203. Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace
Kamakura Period, c. 1250-1300 C.E., Handscroll (ink and color on paper), 2 images

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203. Night Attack on the Sanjo Palace
Kamakura Period, c. 1250-1300 C.E., Handscroll (ink and color on paper), 2 images

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Context

Depicts a key moment from the Heiji Rebellion (1159), a violent political conflict.

Centers on the abduction of retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa by Fujiwara Nobuyori (with Minamoto Yoshitomo’s support).

Reflects Japan’s transition from imperial rule to samurai dominance.

Leads to the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate in 1192, marking the rise of feudal Japan.

Represents a major cultural and governmental shift.

Created during the Kamakura Period, known for realism, emotional intensity, and narrative storytelling.

Form

Handscroll format, meant to be unrolled right to left for sequential viewing.

Continuous narrative style—characters appear multiple times to show unfolding events.

Bold linework, vivid color washes, and expressive details heighten drama.

Bird’s-eye perspective with rich detailing and movement.

Visually progresses from ominous calm → violent chaos → aftermath.

Like cinematic frames, it creates a visual arc that mirrors the story’s emotional intensity.

Content

Opening: Calm scene with ox cart subtly foreshadowing chaos.

Middle: Violent attack on Sanjō Palace—hand-to-hand combat, fleeing women, mass killings, destruction.

Emperor Go-Shirakawa is abducted into an ox cart.

Graphic scenes include decapitations and parades displaying severed heads.

Themes: Power struggle, ambition, military conquest, societal upheaval.

Evokes a rhythmic visual energy that intensifies the narrative.

Function

Serves as entertainment and dramatic narrative storytelling.

Reinforces the legitimacy and values of the rising warrior class.

Offers a historical visual record of Japanese life, warfare, and social structures.

Functions as a gunki monogatari (war tale), promoting samurai ideals like loyalty and bravery.

Celebrates the cultural transition from aristocratic court life to military-led society

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#201 Travelers Among Mountains and Streams: 1000 CE, Ink and colors on silk, Fan Kuan

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#201 Travelers Among Mountains and Streams: 1000 CE, Ink and colors on silk, Fan Kuan

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Content Breakdown:

Chinese landscape (no specific place)

Waterfall, travelers, boulders, trees, mist

Long waterfall on the right is balanced by the mountain on the left. Waterfall is taller than the mountain

Not a pure landscape, donkeys, humans, temple all seem small and insignificant in a vast natural world

Formal Breakdown:

hanging scroll (see all at once)

In proper scale

Neo-Confucianism ideals

Mist created by ink washes silhouette the roofs of the temple

Different brush strokes for different trees

Context Breakdown:

Artist isolated himself from civilization to be with nature and study nature, for his landscapes

He produced very complex Landscapes

Might be his only surviving work, signature hidden in the bottom right

Function Breakdown:

Reverence for rocks and stone because of their "chi"

Evoke Buddha

After long period of political disunity

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#208 Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings: Bichitr, 1620 CE Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper

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#208 Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings: Bichitr, 1620 CE Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper

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Formal Breakdown:

Texts, geometry, natural world

Persian traditions

Proportions play into importance

Content Breakdown:

Manuscript pages

Mughal leader sitting on throne

Text describing reign

Children dressed up

Guy at bottom is the court artist

Suffi: Muslim mystic giving gift to Jahangir

Combo of the sun and moon symbolizing ruler's emperorship and divine truth

Seated on hourglass throne sands of time at bottom representing Jahangir end

Cross cultural influences: Sits on Renaissance carpet; figures of small cherubs copied from European paintings

Artist holds miniature horses and elephant

James I of England in lower left corner

Function Breakdown:

Mughal painting skill

Cross-cultural nature of Art

Artist puts himself at lowest class

Context Breakdown:

Jahangir had many artists follow him wherever he went; wanted everything recorded

He sought to bring everything together