Rustam Lassoing his Horse, Rakhsh, in a Landscape (recto)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Rustam Lassoing his Horse, Rakhsh, in a Landscape (recto)

Date
1400s-1500s
Medium
opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper
Culture
Afghanistan, Herat or Iran, Qazvin, Timurid period (1370–1501) or Safavid period (1501–1722)
Department
Islamic Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
146122

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

The handsome youth lassoing the feisty colt in this painting is Rustam, the Shahnama 's most popular hero. A favorite episode for artists, this event marks a turning point in the fortunes of Iran and offers a wonderful pictorial opportunity. It occurs in a time of trouble for Iran—the throne is empty and a foreign army has invaded the land. The country needs a mighty warrior to fight for her, and the young Rustam is ready for the challenge—once he finds a horse that can bear his enormous weight! The herds are gathered for Rustam's inspection: a piebald bay colt catches his eye. For three years no one has been able to capture the colt, known as "Rustam's Rakhsh." Rustam asks what price the herdsman wants for him. The reply: "If you are a true Rustam—a true 'deliverer'—mount him and make the land of Iran aright. The cost of Rakhsh is the soil of Iran and the deliverance of the world!"

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.l3MION7eUXO_7TIu.FkJRxfcA4w-2wrHngelGoUi738rqRYSEHS3Mhi1p71OKddHWIi5l0nF9iOFcgqW5h02VeWaf96XPugyEZZJ6vLnAz5zQA8j4ediPdq7xuE_O0n2XeLj391u0OAEfqLQe-1veyzIPWiA2mwf0BqAFtNj-D7iTwvpE9b44kygmp6M_le8fq8DJzBqOYCsrzcb2uuDZw7U4YyAf6QnZPuYGfMAnTnK-Kd1-oV7_G-43YW56W7XFpPZNe_EbXzNtT9nJgULVZdyQvfkjzjhJpP_FLLkPuxAO2hrhwk6r_14ItMVzl5Te4ASee at Cleveland Museum of Art QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.0peX3D9Sh-9n70FG.qTcdHPbIwDlFsPr8UEzuowT9eRv-dyLO_j9joRrcLdJagy1XAu2absPtwj_VZjleYo_NwNc5anTGG0AqcTj9NJu3f1R3HSib7EPwNSlFh5o5cXdQtO7NrX2ZLAUqq0UgtMJS-yZZ9Sk8y7s2j8B7867PZ6u5gBes4VXbeL6JrsnGWynegc7jd1o6y-9dyxwyeYAl9iXS7F7cV700Y2lT6Lxw9JqDA85yfjEys4rA4Yc4JjIEEep6Cxd56TlTIifvMtDTAQb3JJf5I2j9IqhmAGuPjCa6RDDPeRZMzNPueXuf
Open this page
See at Cleveland Museum of Art

Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John D. MacDonald
Provenance
?-1971: Mr. and Mrs. John D. MacDonald, Cambridge, MA, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1971-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.