The Assassination of Khusrau Parviz
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Watercolor |
| Current Location: | The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET), New York |
| Location History: | Shah Tahmasp, Iran (until 1568; gifted to Selim II); Sultan Selim II (Turkish), Istanbul (from 1568); Sultan Selim III, Istanbul (by 1800); Baron Edmond James de Rothschild (French), Paris (by 1903–d. 1934); his son, Baron Maurice de Rothschild (French), Paris and Geneva (1934–d. 1957); his son, Baron Edmond Adolphe de Rothschild, Paris and Geneva (1957–59; consigned to Stiebel Ltd.); [ Stiebel Ltd., New York; sold to Houghton in 1959]; Arthur A. Houghton Jr., New York (1959–70; gifted to MMA) |
The painting titled 'The Assassination of Khusrau Parvez' by Abd Al-Samad is Folio 742v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp, a famous creation of art that he painted before coming to India. This painting depicts a scene of Khusrau's cruel assassination by a foul-smelling killer. Khusrau was killed because after years of honest rule and hard work, he out of the blue became an unjust ruler and was hated by his courtiers; therefore, they decided to overthrow him and placed his eldest son, Shuriya, on the throne via conspiracy and imprisoned Khusrau with his beloved Shirin. Towards the left side of the painting is the assassination of Khusrau, which was ordered by his own son Shuriya. King is lying dead on the floor, and the assassin in blue garments can be seen attacking him with a knife/khanjar. Below the assassination painting are his courtiers who are waiting for the assassination to go smoothly and are acting totally unaware of the event. Towards the top right and middle, they are seen having water in royal jars and wine, respectively. At the top and bottom of the painting, Persian script is written, providing the description of what's happening in the painting. Talking about the minute details of the painting, the color contrast used by the artist, filled with warm color palettes and intricate Persian designs and floral bel patterns, makes it stand out by depicting every facial expression and posture beautifully. This is Samad's remarkable piece of art.