Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 22. (Budapest, 2003)
Iván SZÁNTÓ: Reflections on the Origins of the Persian Appliqué from the Esterházy Treasury
(1526-1858). 67 The fifth emperor, Sah Jahän (1628-1658), who pushed court etiquette almost to extremes, had sun motifs put on awnings that were then placed above his throne as a canopy. 68 In this way he wished to re-create the Solomonic tradition of royalty, placing the image of the kingdom in the realm of paradise. The illusion certainly made many believe that it was the earthly sun and the lord of the seasons who was seated on the Peacock Throne. There was somewhere to learn it from: the Persian kings since Darius had known and favoured triumphal display at which canopies and parasols, too, appeared. IV. 2. The appliqué as historical depiction and the purpose of the order Of the applique's many individual features, one that definitely stands out is its middle scene, which is, in a way, should be regarded as a historical depiction. Taking into account the rarity of the case, it is no wonder that previous scholarship had a tendency to regard it as a pictorial adaptation of a literary work instead, and attempted to point out certain diplomatic overtones. The middle field, however, hardly illustrates a literary theme, least of all an episode from Ferdowsi's Book of Kings (the Sähnäme), as a number of specialists suppose. 69 Missing is the most important criterion of an illustration, textual reference. A depiction cannot be regarded as an illustration when epigraphy referring in some way to the literary source does not add to it, especially in a culture so intimately bound to writing as that of Muslim Iran. All the same, the incorrect association is not surprising, since among the models of the depiction it is precisely the sixteenth-century Sähnäme miniatures that come into the reckoning first. We have seen above that the Budapest applique's art historical place is at the turning point of Safavid painting, when traditional illustrations of literary works gradually gave way to various derivated genres. Historical depictions in the primary sense were gaining an increasing role in later Safavid art, a process originating in the post-Tabriz period of Shah Tahmäsb 's reign. In the same time, under Shah Esma'il I and Shah Tahmäsb I, Persian historiography, which looked back on great traditions, was relegated to the background. There were indeed important works - as well as the official biographies of Shah Tahmäsb, the shah's memoirs, too, written in his own hand, have also survived -, the period nevertheless represents an ebb as compared to the peak achievements of the preceding Timurid and later Safavid historiography. Scarcer still was the illustrated historical work; this genre, which had flourished since the thirteenth century, was, in the period, enriched with masterpieces by only the Ottoman and Moghal empires. Although we know that in the Qazvin palaces of Tahmäsb I there were murals commemorating the ruler's victories, his historical interests were sufficiently held by Shi'ite genealogy and the legendary dynasties of Ferdowsi's Iran, since according to the official Safavid doctrine the two chains were joined in him personally. There was, nevertheless, one type of imagery that had been in use in the Sähnäme, and in illustrated manuscripts in general, intended for purposes of purely non-fictional display: the frontispiece. Independent of the text, the title page had usually depicted the enthroned ruler and his entourage. 70 The degree to which these were portrayals of actual courts is disputed, and probably differed from case to case. The middle field of the appliqué stretches back to such frontispieces. From the Timurid period onwards the scene features the open air and spring gardens that are freshened by brooks and awnings, and made more pleasant still by fruit, wine and music. The paradisiacal idyll was in actual fact a part of everyday life for the ruler, well attested by the young Tahmäsb I himself in one of his coarse caricatures (Istanbul, Topkapi Sarayi Müzesi, H. 2154, ///. i7). 71 Of the tipsy courtiers, trying, in vain, to assume a balanced posture, many recall the slightly more sober world of the Budapest appliqué; indeed, the configuration of the terrain, too, sketches out the background of the main field. This important work, which, before 1544, was stuck in the opening page of the famous album belonging to Bahräm Mlrzä, the shah's favourite younger
