Princeton's Great Persian Book of Kings ─ The Peck Shahnama

This lavishly illustrated volume presents a beautifully decorated, yet relatively unknown, copy of the poet Firdausi’sShahnama (Book of Kings). Held by Princeton University and called the PeckShahnama after its donor, the work ranks among the most impressive intact 16th-century Persian manuscripts in the United States.

Composed more than one thousand years ago, the epic poem Shahnama narrates the story of Iran from the dawn of time to the 7th century A.D. Its 50,000 verses and countless tales of Iran’s ancient kings and heroes have been a vital source of artistic inspiration in Persian culture for centuries. An essay by Marianna Shreve Simpson offers a detailed discussion of the PeckShahnama, including its origins, history, and artistic characteristics. All of the manuscript’s 50 illuminated and illustrated folios are reproduced, and each is accompanied by commentary on its narrative themes and artistic presentation. An essay by Louise Marlow explores the manuscript’s extensive marginal glosses, an unusual feature of thisShahnama manuscript.

Marianna Shreve Simpson is a guest curator at the Princeton University Art Museum.Louise Marlow is professor of religion and program director for Middle Eastern studies at Wellesley College.