Bahram Gur and Azada, from a Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi (940-1019 or 1025) 1500s Iran, Tabriz or Qazvin, Safavid period (1501-1722) Opaque watercolor and gold on paper Sheet: 32.5 x 21.5 cm (12 13/16 x 8 7/16 in.); Image: 17.4 x 11 cm (6 7/8 x 4 5/16 in.) Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1915.597 DESCRIPTION This image from an unfinished painting depicts one of the most popular episodes from the life of the pre-Islamic Persian king Bahram Gur (reigned AD 420–38). A famed hunter, he was challenged by his concubine, Azada, to strike a donkey through its foot and ear with a single arrow. Azada is in the upper right playing the harp on a camel. Bahram Gur successfully meets her challenge at the bottom of the page; he tossed a rock into the donkey’s ear, then fired when the animal tried to kick it loose. EXHIBITION HISTORY Cleveland Museum of Art, Inaugural Catalogue, Gallery XII, no. 77. Arts of Iran (Islamic art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 2018-October 28, 2019).