Miniature from the Anthology of Sultan Iskandar

This manuscript, dedicated to Sultan Iskandar, is unquestionably one of the finest examples of the art of the book from the Timurid period (1378-1506). Iskandar, the grandson of Timur (Tamerlane), was a great patron whose name is associated to some seventy complete or incomplete manuscripts. This anthology is in the early timurid style and consists of poetic texts in the first volume and prose in the second. It includes thirty-eight miniatures and fifteen full-page or half-page decorative illuminations.
The full-page miniature on folio 66v shows Bahram Gur in the Room of the Seven Portraits, an illustration of the fourth poem (Haft Paikar) from Nizami’s work. The poem Haft Paikar (The Seven Portraits or The Seven Beauties) demonstrates the training for an ideal monarch by narrating episodes from the life of a Sassanian king, called Bahram Gur.
The foreground of the miniature that illustrates this poem shows Bahram Gur admiring the seven pavilions, which have vaulted domes. The princesses, each of whom represents one aspect of love, are shown sitting under these domes.