“Qavam Shahnameh”, Another Aspect of Miniature Painting Art of Shiraz during the Safavid Period

The illustrated manuscript of the “Qavam Shahnameh”, preserved in the Reza Abbasi Museum, includes 38 miniature paintings. This Shahnameh was written by Mohammad Qavam Shirazi in 1000 A.H., but the name of the painter(s) is not mentioned. This artwork is among the manuscripts that have received less attention and is almost unknown. In this research, an attempt is made to gain a more accurate understanding of this manuscript by relying on historical evidence and structural examinations of the miniature paintings, as well as their artistic and stylistic quality. The current research aims to introduce this work and identify the structural and visual characteristics of this artistic masterpiece, as well as to more precisely identify this work, based on evidence and documentation, regarding its stylistic and locational identity. The fundamental questions of the present research are: “What is the painting style of the Qavam Shahnameh”? and “What visual characteristics and values does it possess”?

Research Method

The present research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method, and the findings were obtained through library resources, databases, and the archive of the "Reza Abbasi" Museum. In this study, several Shahnamehs from the Shiraz painting style and two Shahnamehs from the Qazvin style, which were somewhat contemporary with the "Qavam Shahnameh", have been examined and compared.

Although the Qavam Shahnameh is considered to belong to the Qazvin painting style, the findings indicate that this manuscript bears many similarities with other Shahnamehs of the Shiraz style and follows the tradition of "Shiraz miniature painting". The identity of the calligrapher of this manuscript has also been examined.

The Qavam Shahnameh is among the Shahnamehs which include all the characteristics of the Shiraz style. This Shahnameh bears many similarities with other Shahnamehs from Shiraz, especially the Peck and Britain Shahnamehs, and they were likely created by the same painters. Also, the calligrapher is Muhammad Qavam Shirazi, who is one of the prolific calligraphers of Shiraz and created all his works in this city. The findings of the present research indicate that the Qavam Shahnameh belongs to the Shiraz style and was probably produced in the professional workshops of Shiraz, and contrary to the common viewpoint, it has no relation to the Qazvin style. The common features found in the miniature paintings of the Qavam Shahnameh and other works of the Qazvin style do not belong solely to this Shahnameh; they are also present in other Shahnamehs from Shiraz. The reason for this is that Shirazi painters were influenced by painters from the capital (Qazvin).