Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination

SUPPLEMENT

THE EVERLASTING

FLAMEZoroastrianism in History and Imagination

Edited by Sarah Stewart, Ursula Sims-Williams, Firoza Punthakey Mistree

National MuseumNew Delhi

National MuseumNew Delhi

National MuseumNew DelhiNational MuseumNew Delhi

THE EVERLASTING

FLAME

National MuseumNew Delhi

Published on the occasion of the exhibitionThe Everlasting Flame:

Zoroastrianism in History and ImaginationNational Museum, Delhi

Curated by Sarah Stewart • Firoza Punthakey Mistree

Ursula Sims-Williams • Almut Hintze • Pheroza J. Godrej Shernaz Cama

Exhibition designed byMorris Associates

assisted by Soku Designs

© of National Museum, Janpath, New Delhi -110011First published on the occasion of the Exhibition The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination, 2016

Editors: Sarah Stewart, Ursula Sims-Williams and Firoza Punthakey MistreeCatalogue Design: Anjan DeyCoordination: Vasundhra SangwanSenior Photographer and Photo-editing: Hariom Maurya

Publication: Shri K.K. S DeoriProduction: Sanjib Kumar SinghProduction Assistance: Yogesh M. and Sachin Kumar

Cover Image: From Gilded silver dish with watery scenes, National Museum of Tehran Frontespiece: The Battle of Rostam with Afrasiyab, Shahnameh, National Museum Delhi

Printed at: Creative Offset Press, Patparganj, New Delhi

Price: Rs. 300

Supplement Content

3 The Silk Road, Central Asia and China 18

4 Judaeo-Christian world 32

5 Imperial Iran 34

6 Post Arab Conquest 50

7 Journey and Settlement 56

8 Parsi Salon 66

Originated more than 3000 years ago, Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest religions of the World and much like the ancient Vedic culture, it was an oral religion transferred from generation to generation through priests. There have also been close similarities between Sanskrit and ancient Avestan language which are both known to be one of the oldest languages of the world. In many ways, there has been a deep connection between ancient India and ancient Iran and it is not surprising that we cherish and celebrate it till date.

When the Ministry of Minority Affairs decided to sponsor this Exhibition through their scheme Hamari Dharohar, I was pleased to extend all possible help through the Institutions under the Ministry of Culture so that it could be a rich and long standing partnership for the overall benefit of the people of India and world heritage where India features prominently.

Originated in ancient Iran, a large number of Zoroastrian people travelled to India in medieval times and landed in present day Gujarat which became the core of the Parsi Community here. The contributions of the Parsis in India is well known, from the arts to sciences and literature and most of all in philanthropy, the Parsi Community has contributed a great deal to Indian people. I believe, through this important exhibition, we are also celebrating these contributions. By supporting such programmes we are not only bringing increased awareness and appreciation for lesser known cultures but also highlighting that people have always been related across continents and civilizations have developed in conversation with each other.

I would like to thank Dr. Najma Heptullah, Hon’ble Minister of Minority Affairs for supporting this project enthusiastically. It is symbolic of her deep commitment to the cause of minorities in India. In a country like India which is known for its plurality, we are proud to celebrate another ancient wisdom which arrived in our country many centuries ago and continues to enrich our knowledge systems.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs as an organisation is committed to providing support and empowering the minority communities and creating an environment for strengthening the multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious character of our nation.

In 2014, UNESCO Parzor introduced the idea for organising the exhibition, The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination in India. This initiative was then taken up by the Ministry and all support has been provided to make this a successful project in India as we recognise the need to inform people about the history and culture of our Parsi community.

The Parsis have been an integral part of India and have contributed immensely to society over the past 1200 years. Unfortunately, over the years this community has substantially reduced in number which has been a major cause for concern for the Government of India. This exhibition on the history of the Zoroastrians is a crucial initiative for India and was organised under the Hamari Dharohar Programme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

The Everlasting Flame International Programme has been manifested in three exhibitions at National Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts around this theme. I am grateful to all the institutions and individuals who have lent their objects from across the world to be showcased in these exhibitions and enabled us to share the history of the Zoroastrians through objects from all over the world.

I would like thank the Government of India and the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Finance in particular for giving all their support and enthusiasm to this project.

I hope this exhibition creates awareness among our citizens and others about the significant history of the Parsi community among us and encourages people to support the growth and culture of this community.

MESSAGESDr. Mahesh Sharma Hon'ble Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (I/C) and Civil Aviation, Government of India

Dr. Najma A. Heptulla Hon'ble Minister of Minority Affairs, Government of India

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The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in history and imagination is the first SOAS University of London exhibition to be taken on tour. It will be hosted at the National Museum in Delhi, one of India’s largest museums.

The School received its Royal Charter as a College of the University of London in June 1916 and this event marks our first centenary event.

The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in history and imagination is organised in collaboration with the British Library and UNESCO Parzor. The exhibition will display objects from the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, State Hermitage Museum, Alpaiwalla Museum, Mumbai, Institute of Archaeology and Afrasiyab Museum, Samarkand as well as loans from the British Library, other libraries and private collections.

Visitors to the exhibition will be introduced to a fascinating and diverse collection of artefacts, texts, paintings and textiles. These will be displayed alongside a number of unique installations that include a walk-in fire temple.

The exhibition was first shown at SOAS' Brunei Gallery in 2013 in London to widespread acclaim. The interest shown in the exhibition demonstrated a desire for information and knowledge about Zoroastrianism.

Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest living faiths and one of Iran’s great contributions to the history of human thought, has been studied at SOAS since 1929. A lectureship was established in Ancient Iranian Studies, through annual Parsi benefactions, as early as the 1930s. Harold Walter Bailey held the Parsee Community’s lectureship and Walter Bruno Henning succeeded him; both were leading scholars in Iranian Studies.

However it was the late Professor Mary Boyce who put the university on the world map of Zoroastrian Studies. She taught and carried out research at SOAS from 1947 until 1982, and made an extraordinary impact on the School and on her subject. Since then, SOAS has had many distinguished scholars of Zoroastrianism and Iranian Studies.

We are grateful to all those who have contributed to the mounting of our exhibition in Delhi, which has been facilitated by the generous support of the Government of India through the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA). In particular I would like to thank the Director and team at the National Museum, the Director and team of Unesco Parzor, the institutions and private lenders who have provided the rich content of the exhibition, the curators and advisors, and all those at SOAS who have assisted in the successful staging of the exhibition.

In 2015, the Government of India announced that it will be supporting The Everlasting Flame International Programme to showcase the contributions of the Zoroastrians to world culture and history. The Everlasting Flame International Programme has been manifested in three exhibitions at National Museum, National Gallery of Modern Art and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts around this theme. These Exhibitions have been supported by the Ministry of Minority Affairs under their scheme Hamari Dharohar.

The Exhibition at National Museum titled The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination was first organized at SOAS, University of London, in 2013. It presents viewers with a visual narrative of the history of Zoroastrianism from its ancient Iranian roots to its emergence as the foremost religion of the Achaemenid and Parthian empires and its consolidation as the state religion under Sasanians. The exhibition also brings forth the influence of Zoroastrianism in Central Asia, China and other regions.

The theme of this exhibition is of particular interest in India as we have Parsi communities among us and sharing their history through objects from all over the world is significant. The Exhibition is unique and a first of its kind with over 42 lenders including the British Library, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, The Wellcome Trust, the John Rylands Library, Ancient India and Iran Trust, The Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe and the Warburg Institute in the UK; The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg and the National Museum of Iran, Tehran, many of whom are lending to India for the first time. Members of the Parsi Community in India and abroad have generously come forward and lent objects to the Exhibition which truly marks their support for the initiative.

I would like to thank SOAS, University of London, Parzor Foundation, the British Library and the National Museum of Iran in particular for their immense support and cooperation towards this exhibition as collaborators. I would also like to compliment the hard work put in by the National Museum team, CPWD, Colin Morris Associates and Saurabh Sharma of SOKU Designs without whom this project would not have culminated so wonderfully.

The support from the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Ministry of Culture was invaluable in order to put together this large scale project. I wish to thank the Secretary, Minority Affairs, Shri Rakesh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Shri Narendra Kumar Sinha, Joint Secretary, Minority Affairs, Shri Anurag Bajpai and Mr. Shahbaz Ali, CMD, National Minorities Fund Development Corporation (NMFDC) and his team of managers for their constant support in realizing the project.

I hope this exhibition and the supplementary catalogue enrich the visitor’s experience and assist them to obtain a deeper understanding of the history and traditions of the Zoroastrians.

Sanjiv Mittal Director General, National Museum

Baroness Valerie Amos Director, SOAS

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It gives me great pleasure and satisfaction to be able to write this short prefatory note for the supplementary catalogue to ‘Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in history and imagination’ at the National Museum of India, Delhi. This is a project with which we at the British Library have been closely involved since the exhibition was first planned in London in 2012. Not only does its opening in Delhi celebrate our special relationship with the School of Oriental and African Studies in their Centenary year, but it marks what we hope will be a continued relationship with partner institutions in India on a range of projects that advance knowledge and mutual understanding. The British Library is proud to have co-curated this exhibition under a SOAS flag in collaboration with partner institutions, and to have contributed a significant number of key loans, this being the first time it has ever loaned material to an Indian institution. In addition to the world’s oldest Zoroastrian prayer dating from the 9th century CE, and other important Zoroastrian sacred texts, we are pleased to have lent two rare 15th century European illustrated manuscripts which demonstrate the influence of Zoroastrianism and its visual interpretation in the West. Other important British Library exhibits include a fifth or sixth century Syriac manuscript and a Zoroastrian prayer book, the first non-official publication to be have been printed in India in a vernacular language. The exhibition includes over 300 objects ranging from antiquity to the present day originating from an area stretching from Europe to India, Central Asia, and China. The diversity of the Zoroastrian faith truly reflects the multi-cultural nature of the society in which we live today.

UNESCO Parzor is delighted that the world, in particular, the Government of India, realizing the demographic predicament of the Parsi Zoroastrians of India, has understood the threat to an ancient heritage and culture. All countries who are signatories to UNESCO should protect such a community in the fields of Tangible and Intangible Heritage.

We are grateful that the Government of India has fully supported the International Everlasting Flame Programme 2016. India has given shelter to the Zoroastrian faith for over 1200 years. Founded by the Bronze Age Prophet Zarathushtra of Iran, Zoroastrianism is the world’s oldest revealed religion. Today the Parsi Zoroastrians are a distinct thread in the tapestry of India.

Across the world, the preservation of ethnicity, language, distinct dress and lifestyles is a challenge in a globalizing world. Yet it is necessary to bind the past with living practices, as done in the Exhibition “Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination.” This seminal exhibition brings together Institutions and individuals from all parts of the world combining academic scholarships as well as living history. Thus, it brings alive a complete picture of an ancient civilization and its modern people.

The Government of India deserves great credit for its support to this “micro-minority,” culture under the Hamari Dharohar Programme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The International Everlasting Flame Programme 2016, is one more commitment of the Government through this Ministry, as well as the Ministry of Culture. Here the importance of Zoroastrianism to humanity will come alive in the National Capital, with SOAS, University of London bringing the treasures of the British Museum, the British Library, National Museum, Tehran and Institutions from across the world, to display Zoroastrian culture. At this Programme, several countries and scholars from across the world will also gather to discuss a heritage of great value to humanity in a Conference Zoroastrianism in the New Millennium, at the National Museum Institute. Today with a world that is rapidly homogenizing, identity struggles are often problematic. The Parsi example of ‘Sugar in the Milk’ is one that the world needs to study and appreciate our land India, for its care of this tiny group of refugees.

Mr. Sanjiv Mittal, Ms. Joyoti Roy, Mr. Kamlesh Sharma, Ms. Ruchira Verma and all those at the National Museum, must be congratulated for their dedication to excellence. I wish the Programme all success.

Roly Keating Chief Executive, British Library

Dr. Shernaz Cama Director, UNESCO Parzor

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National Museum would like to thank our institutional collaborators and all those whose generosity and contributions have helped to realize this project.Sponsoring Institution

Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India (MoMA)Shri Rakesh Garg, SecretaryShri A.K Antony, PS to Hon’ble Minister of Minority AffairsShri Anurag Bajpai, Joint SecretaryShri Ravi Kumar, Under Secretary

Collaborating Institutions

SOAS, University of LondonBaroness Valerie Ann Amos, DirectorRichard BlackJoanne DowneyJahan FosterMatthew GormanAlmut HintzeJohn HollingworthChris InceCarol MilesNirmala RaoZeba SalmanJane SavorySana ShahSarah StewartJane WoodZöe Woodward

British LibraryBaroness Tessa Blackstone, Chairman, British Library BoardCatherine EagletonRoly KeatingBarbara O’ConnorUrsula Sims-Williams

Parzor FoundationShernaz Cama, DirectorKritika MudgalNiloufer ShroffVanshika Singh

National Museum of Iran, TehranJabrael Nokendeh, DirectorMasoumeh AhmadiZahra AkbariShahrokh Razmjou

Zarir CamaFarrokh KavaranaKhojeste P. MistreeSherry and Kyresh PatelErvad Firdaus R. Pavri, Godavara Fire TempleErvad Rohinton Pavri, Maneckji Seth, Fire TempleArnavaz Mistry

National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMFDC), New DelhiMohd. Shahbaz Ali, Managing DirectorShri Kumar Sudesh, Manager, FinanceShri Manoj Punia, Manager, FinanceShri Anil Kumar, Manager, Projects/CMS and Public Information

Lending Institutions

British Library, London (see above)

British Museum, LondonNeil MacGregor, former DirectorTim ChamberlainJill MaggsVesta Sarkhosh Curtis

National Museum of Iran, Tehran (see above)

Victoria and Albert Museum, LondonMartin Roth, DirectorHannah Kauffman

State Hermitage Museum, St. PetersbergMichail Piotrovsky, DirectorMariam DandamaevaLarisa KulakovaOlga IlmenkovaPavel Lurje

Wellcome Trust, LondonRowan De Saulles

John Rylands Library, ManchesterMark Furness

Warburg Institute, University of London, LondonRapahel Mouren

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), MumbaiSabyasachi Mukherjee, Director General, CSMVSManisha Nene

Ancient India and Iran Trust, LondonNicholas Sims-Williams, Chairman

Tata ArchivesFreny ShroffFarrokh Subedar

Bombay Parsi PunchayetYazdi H DesaiKersi RanderiaArmaity TirandazNoshir DadrawallaZarir BhatenaViraf MehtaNivedita Mehta, Curator, F.D Alpaiwalla MuseumPheroza J Godrej, Hon. Director, F.D Alpaiwalla MuseumFiroza Punthakey Mistree, Hon. Director, F.D Alpaiwalla Museum

Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe (ZTFE), LondonMalcom Deboo, PresidentRusi DalalDorab MistryRoyal Asiatic Society, LondonAlison Ohta, Director

Thomas Heatherwick StudioRuth Daniels

Tata Services Limited, Mumbai and Tata Central Archives, Pune Ratan N Tata, Chairman-Emeritus, Tata Trusts, MumbaiCyrus P Mistry, Chairman, Tata Sons Limited, MumbaiF K Kavarana, Chairman, Lady Tata Memorial Trust, MumbaiF N Subear, Chairman, Tata Services Limited, MumbaiR. Sriraman, Senior Officer, Administration and ProtocolFrenny Shroff

Private Lenders

Zar Amrolia, Fareydoun Ave, Muncherji Cama, Shernaz Cama, Sarosh Dinshaw, Bapsy Dastur, Rusi Dalal, Farrokh Dubash, Ervad Hormuz Dadachanji, Shernaz Engineer, Fatema Soudavar Farmafarmaian, Pheroza J Godrej, Hameed Haroon, Mehernosh Heeramaneck, Almut Hintze, Aban Marker Kabraji, Jai Khodiar,Vahid Kooros, Firoza Punthakey Mistree, Rayomand Maneckshaw, Homi Rainina, Rico & Feroza Rustomjee, Daud Shah, Sanjay Soni, Ervad Burjor Antia, Managing Trustee, Maneckji Seth Fire Temple, Ervad Aspandiar Dadachanji, Ervad Faredun Turel

Designers

Colin Morris AssociatesImad AmjadDavid BarnettLesley EdenMahya FatemiColin Morris

SOKU DesignsSaurav Sharma

Effects TechSarosh Patel

Host Institution

National Museum, New DelhiSanjiv Mittal, Director GeneralR. P. Savita, Director, ConservationP. K. Nagta, Director (Collections and Administration)K. K. S. Deori, Curator, DisplayVijay Kumar Mathur, Curator, Lecturing and EducationAnamika Pathak, Curator, Decorative ArtsK. K. Sharma, Deputy Curator, Exhibition CellS.C. Jaswal, Senior ConservatorKuldeep Prasad, Layout ArtistRavi Kumar, Display DepartmentShanker Sharma, Research OfficerRige Shiba, Assistant Curator Khatibur Rahman, Assistant Curator Yogesh M., Assistant CuratorArvind Rautela, Assistant CuratorKomal Pande, Assistant CuratorZahid Ali Ansari, Assistant Curator Kaustav Saikia, Assistant Curator Priya, ArtistRajesh Kumar Gupta, Hindi TranslatorBiju Thankiappan, Director General’s officeO.P Khetrapal, Director General’s officeVandana, Director General’s officeSurya Dev, Photo OfficerHemant Kumar Tomar, ModellerShivkumar, ForemanDheeraj Kumar, Director General’s office

Joyoti Roy, Outreach ConsultantRuchira Verma, Young Museum ProfessionalVasundhra Sangwan, Outreach OfficerAditya Kumar Kanth, Senior ConservatorHariom Maurya, Senior PhotographerGopal Sharma, VolunteerSmriti Malhotra, Intern Exhibition CellRidham Seth, Intern Exhibition CellManisha Singh, Typist Exhibition CellNagendra Kumar, Computer OperatorAnju Gupta, TranslatorRani Kumari, StenographerShailendra Prasad, Hindi Consultant, National Museum Institute

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Nehru Memorial Museum libraryS.K Shukla, Hindi OfficerMrs. Anshu Gupta, Hindi Translator

Central Public Works Department (CPWD)

Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) Nitin Kumar Tyagi, DC Mukta Raj, Inspector

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The announcement by the Minister of Finance, Government of India, in the budget speech of March 2014 to sponsor the Everlasting Flame Programme delighted many Parsis who were listening at the time. For all those involved in the original exhibition, held in the Brunei Gallery in 2013, their effort was rewarded with a chance to take the exhibition on tour – the first time a SOAS exhibition has left the confines of the University of London. For those who supported the exhibition in 2013 their generosity was rewarded by the creation of a visual narrative that people elsewhere in the world wished to see.

Taking the exhibition to India has given the curators the opportunity to expand the collection to include new objects, paintings and textiles that have been described in a Supplement to the existing Catalogue, published by the National Museum. The additional material includes some original wall paintings from Penjikent, introduced by Frantz Grenet, courtesy of the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg. These are drawn from several of the Rostam cycles depicting the great Persian hero in combat either with demons or warriors. Pavel Lurje describes the site of Penjikent and its history. Rostam and his horse Rakhsh also feature in the earliest written version of the Rostam Cycle, a Sogdian fragment from Dunhuang, China, dating from the ninth century CE.

Rostam in battle and having his wounds tended to by the mythical bird, simorgh, is also the subject of two illustrated folios from a copy of the Shahnameh in the National Museum, Delhi. These have been selected and researched by Khatibur Rahman. Different manifestations of the simorgh (Pahl. senmurv) occur throughout the exhibition (Catalogue 89, 109, 110, 116. Supplement 13, 15, 19, 23, 34). We are pleased

this time to include textile fragments from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, that depict the senmurv in decorative pearl roundels. These are discussed by Jenny Rose in her piece: Beasts, Real and Imagined.

One of the more beautiful acquisitions for this exhibition is the enameled reliquary casket from Limoges. The casket portrays the biblical Wise Men who made the journey to Bethlehem to worship the Christ child. Formerly displayed in the exhibition Wise Men from the East, Zoroastrian Traditions in Persia and Beyond (British Museum, 2014). Vesta Sarhkhosh Curtis and Almut Hintze discuss the biblical account and its Iranian connections.

The exhibition has been greatly enhanced by loans from the National Museum of Iran, Tehran. The Sasanian silver dishes, in particular, complement those that have been lent by the State Hermitage Museum. Prudence Harper introduces this collection – most of which is from the Sasanian period.

Some additional and important manuscripts have been loaned from the British Library. These acquisitions elaborate on some of the themes of the exhibition and have been researched by Ursula Sims-Williams. They include an imperial copy of the Shahnameh illustrated around 1613 in the studio of the Mughal statesman Khankhanan ‘Abd al-Rahim. She also introduces the coins from the Mughal period of which the gold mohurs of Emperor Akbar are particularly significant insofar as they show the Zoroastrian month names. Ursula Sims-Williams and Firoza Punthakey Mistree discuss the supposed encounter between the Zoroastrian

priest, Meherjirana, and the Emperor at the court of Akbar. The Dasatir-i asmani sheds light on religious beliefs current during the reign of the Emperor Akbar through the eyes of the spiritual leader Azar Kayvan.

Firoza Punthakey Mistree gives an account of the connection between the Parsi artist Pestonjee Bomanjee, and the author Rudyard Kipling, through Kipling’s Just So Stories for Little Children. She has also contributed many captions on the new paintings, textiles and furniture from Mumbai that we are pleased to be able to display in the Delhi exhibition. Some exquisite garas have been added to the exhibition in Delhi. Shernaz Cama introduces these in her piece on Parsi textiles and embroidery.

This exhibition would not have been possible without the generous sponsorship of the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA), Government of India. We are grateful to the National Museum and Director General, Sanjiv Mittal, for hosting the exhibition. Also for the time and effort devoted to the project by the Museum’s dedicated Outreach team: Joyoti Roy, Ruchira Verma, Vasundhra Sangwan, Rige Shiba and K.K Sharma (Exhibitions). Joyoti Roy especially should be warmly thanked for her role in liaising between London and Delhi over many months to make this a truly collaborative event.

There are many at SOAS who have contributed to the success of the exhibition. In particular I would like to thank our Director, Valerie Amos, School Secretary Chris Ince, John Hollingworth, Galleries Manager, and Jahan Foster, Exhibition Assistant. We also thank Colin Morris and his team at CMA, our exhibition designers, who have worked in collaboration with the National Museum team and Soku Designs. We are

greatful to Anjan Dey for the design and layout the catalogue.

I would like to thank my co-curators Firoza Punthakey Mistree, Ursula Sims-Williams, Almut Hintze, Pheroza Godrej and Shernaz Cama for all their help and expertise. Ursula and Firoza have given generously of their time to ensure the successful production of the Supplementary Catalogue and the installation of the exhibition in the National Museum. I am also grateful to the Advisors to the exhibition, Frantz Grenet, Philip Kreyenbroek, Alan Williams, Jenny Rose and especially Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, who has helped to source the objects from the National Museum of Iran, Tehran. Thanks are due to the Bombay Parsi Punchayet for the restoration work undertaken on the new loans of paintings, particularly those from the Bhabha Sanatorium in Bandra.

Our gratitude to the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe and the Aequa Foundation for providing the core funding for the 2013 exhibition in London, as well as the Catalogue, should also be recorded here. We are grateful to Dr Cyrus Poonawalla for sponsoring the construction of the fire temple and the Persepolis glass installation. Both were created especially for the London exhibition and will be shown again in Delhi.

We learned recently and with great sadness that our former Director and Principal of SOAS, Professor Paul Webley, passed away on 3rd March. Professor Webley supported the Everlasting Flame project from its inception, and its continuation is in large part due to his advice and support. He was delighted to learn that the exhibition would travel to Delhi.

INTRODUCTIONSarah Stewart SOAS, University of London

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The Sogdian civilization, which flourished between the 5th and the 8th centuries CE, covered most of the territories of present day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, including the Sogdian colonies along the Silk Road. This civilization and especially its Zoroastrian component are mainly illustrated, on the one hand, by its funerary art (ossuaries, decorated sarcophagi and the funerary couches of Sogdian merchants in Northern China), and on the other hand by mural paintings found at the major sites of Samarkand, Panjikent, Varakhsha near Bukhara, and Shahristan in Ustrushana. Although many Sogdians in China did in fact convert to Buddhism, it was persecuted at times in Sogdiana itself, e.g. at Samarkand in the period of Xuanzang's visit, and its art is rarely represented there. Eastern Christianity and Manichaeism were better tolerated, but so far no Christian or Manichaean paintings have been identified in Sogdiana itself (except for one possible case at Panjikent).

The site of Panjikent, a middle-size independent city 60 km to the east of Samarkand, has been intensively excavated since 1947 by an expedition from the Hermitage Museum and has provided by far the main collection of Sogdian paintings, found in the two city temples as well as in richly decorated private houses. 1

The subjects safely identified in Temple I seem to refer rather to ‘canonical’ Zoroastrianism (the fire altar, the goddess Druwasp, the Fravardegan and Abrezagan festivals), while the divine images in Temple II belong to the cult of the syncretic goddess Nana (of ultimate Mesopotamian origin), and to her associate Weshparkar (the Iranian god Vayu depicted in the guise of the Indian god Shiva).

In the reception rooms of the private houses, the wall facing the entrance is occupied by the image of the deity, or divine couple that the family considered to be its protector. These deities, including Weshparkar and Nana, belong to the Zoroastrian pantheon with a strong Indian influence in their iconography. The identity of some of them (i.e. the very popular couple of the ‘god with a camel’ and ‘goddess with a ram’) is still disputed. The side walls illustrate stories from the epics, with a band of self-contained panels illustrating fables at the bottom. The epic repertoire is suffused with Zoroastrian references for example the Fravashis (guardian spirits) flying over a battle scene, various flying creatures symbolizing the Farr (divine glory) bringing fortune to heroes, and battles against demons, etc. The only subjects so far identified in Iranian literature belong to the cycle of Rostam: his heroic deeds against the demons of Mazandaran (See Supplement 1 and 2 below) and, according to a recent proposal, 2 the episode of his son Faramarz freeing an Indian princess who had been captured by a three-headed demon (Supplement 3). FG

3 THE SILK ROAD, CENTRAL ASIA AND CHINA

INTRODUCTION TO THE PAINTINGS OF PANJIKENT AND SAMARKAND

1 • Rostam fights an adversary Panjikent, Tajikistan • c 740 CE • Wall-painting on dry loess plaster • 105 x 195 cm The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, SA-16223

One of the recently restored paintings from the famous ‘Blue Hall’. The second register of the painting is devoted to the epic of Rostam. This scene depicts Rostam’s combat with an unknown character (a demon or a warrior). The painting was located in the northern part of the eastern wall, to the left of a religious theme depicting the goddess Nana seated on a lion. On the left, Rostam rides his red horse, Rakhsh. He shoots an arrow into his enemy who holds a spear with two hands, his shield hanging from his chest. Under the horse’s hooves lies a slain warrior and broken shield. This may represent a subsequent episode showing the result of the combat with the same enemy defeated. LYK

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2 • A Sogdian fragment from the Rostam Cycle Facsimile reproduction of British Library Or.8212/81 (Ch.00349) discovered at Dunhuang, China, 9th century CE

This Sogdian fragment is almost certainly by the same scribe as the Ashem Vohu fragment (Catalogue 27). It describes how the hero Rostam and his horse Rakhsh together destroy a band of demons by pretending to flee and then attacking them while they were unprepared. This episode does not occur in the Persian epic the Shahnameh, but may correspond to one of the scenes depicted in the Rostam cycle from Panjikent in Sogdiana (Supplement 1 above). NS-W

2 a • Translation

…[The demons] opened the city gates. Many archers, many charioteers, many riding elephants, many riding monsters, many riding pigs, many riding foxes, many riding dogs, many riding on snakes and on lizards, many on foot, many who went flying like vultures and ..., many upside-down, the head downwards and the feet upwards: they all bellowed out a roar, they raised a mighty storm, rain, snow, hail, [lightning] and thunder, they opened their evil mouths and spouted fire, flame and smoke. They departed in search of the valiant Rostam.

Then the observant Rakhsh came and woke Rostam. Rostam arose from his sleep, quickly donned his leopard-skin garment, tied on his bow-case, mounted Rakhsh and hastened towards the demons. When Rostam saw from afar the army of the demons, he said to Rakhsh: Come, sir, run away little [by little]; let us perform [a trick] so that the demons [pursue us] to the flat [plain ...]. Rakhsh agreed. Immediately Rostam turned back. When the demons saw, at once both the cavalry and the infantry quickly hurled themselves forward. They said to one another: Now the chief ’s hope has been crushed; no longer is he prepared to do battle with us. By no means let him escape! Do not kill him either, but take him alive so that we may show him evil punishment and harsh torture! The demons encouraged one another greatly; they all howled and departed in pursuit of Rostam. Then Rostam turned round and attacked the demons like a fierce lion attacking a deer or a hyena attacking a flock or herd, like a falcon attacking a [hare or] a porcupine attacking a snake, and he began [to destroy] them ... NS-W

overleaf 3 • A king enthroned Panjikent, Tajikistan • c 740 CE • Wall-painting on dry loess plaster • 140 x 114 cm The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, SA-16190

This fragment from a reception hall depicts the final scene of the rescue of a girl kidnapped by a demon. The king is seated cross-legged on a golden throne under an arch. He holds an axe in his right hand and his left hand is pointing towards a kneeling couple, a young champion with the girl he has rescued. The armour of a defeated demon, a trophy, lies near the throne. To the right of the arch stands the hero Rostam in his leopard skin. Scholars formerly believed that this scene depicted the story of Rostam’s daughter Zar-banu but recent scholarship has attempted to identify the young hero as Faramarz, the son of Rostam. 3 LYK

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THE AMBASSADORS’ PAINTING AT SAMARKANDThe cycle of the ‘Ambassadors’ Painting’ at Samarkand presents a unique portrayal of the Nowruz (New Year) festival. The painting was discovered in 1965 at Afrasiab, the pre-Mongol site of Samarkand. It decorated the four walls (each 11 metres long) of an aristocratic house. While this was probably not the royal palace, the subject matter of the paintings was clearly inspired by the propaganda of Varkhuman, king of Sogdiana, known to have ruled in the 650’s and early 660’s. As recognized recently 4, the inspiration for the murals may have been the calendar conjunction which occurred in 660 and 663 as a result of which the summer solstice, the 6th day of Nowruz (the ‘royal’ day) and the ‘Dragon Boats’ festival coincided. This would have allowed King Varkhuman to be portrayed presiding over the harmony of nations, possibly reminiscent of Yima, legendary king of universal peace, who was supposed to have celebrated Nowruz at the summer solstice.

The western wall, facing the entrance, shows the reception in an open air ceremony of ambassadors bearing gifts at Nowruz. The upper part of the painting showing the ambassadors destination is missing, but is generally thought to have depicted King Varkhuman on his throne (another part of the panel reproduces the text of his dialogue with an envoy). Other suggestions for this missing section have included Sogdian gods or Turkish overlords

4 • The southern wall of the Ambassadors’ Painting Digitised print on plastic copied from original wall-painting, c. 660-63 CE • Afrasiab, Uzbekistan North East History Foundation, Korea

The southern wall of the ‘Ambassadors’ Painting’ from Samarkand shows the procession on the sixth day of Nowruz (New Year) when the king and his retinue processed to the mausoleum of his parents situated to the East of the city walls. This ritual is described in Chinese records on the Chach (Tashkent) kingdom and is also briefly mentioned in connection with Samarkand.

— not, however, possible at this period. Indeed many Turkish guards are seen attending the ceremony, but their presence can be explained by their military importance in all Sogdian principalities. The identified ambassadors come from the neighbouring kingdoms of Sogdiana’s main ally China, and Tibet. Koreans are also included as part of the Chinese delegation.

The southern wall (Supplement 4) shows the procession on the sixth day of Nowruz.

The eastern wall, poorly preserved, shows scenes from India, probably including tales. At the end on the left-hand side two astrologers are discussing in front of an armillary sphere.

The northern wall contains scenes from Chinese court life: the empress taking part in the ‘Dragon Boats’ festival, the emperor presiding over a panther hunt. FG

5 a-f. • Biya-Naiman ossuary fragments Biya-Naiman, Uzbekistan • 7th century • Baked clay • 27 x 27 cm (5a) Catalogue 38; 13.5 x 13 cm (5b) Cata-logue 40; 19.5 x 22 cm (5c) Catalogue 39; 20 x 15.5 cm (5d); 19.5 x 15 cm (5e); 29 x 23 cm (5f). The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, CA-2918 (225);

CA-2822 (226); CA-2765 (227) CA-2976; CA-2977; CA-2873.

In 1908 about 700 fragments of terracotta ossuaries and their covers were found at Biya-Naiman, near Kata-Kurgan on the way from Bukhara to Samarkand. They were discovered by N.B. Kastal’sky (1868-1943), a military engineer resident in Samarkand, an amateur and local historian and a well-known collector of antiquities. The ossuary was originally decorated on four sides by a repeated motif which Frantz Grenet has suggested (Catalogue, pp. 22-23) represents six deities, the six Amesha-Spentas, divine Zoroastrian beings, each holding a ritual implement. Fragment CA 2918 (5a) shows a female figure holding a covered vessel and a crenellated

From right to left we see King Varkhuman (oversized and largely destroyed) with riders, possibly including ambassadors; sacrificial animals (a horse and four geese) brought by figures, possibly priests, wearing the padam (mouth covering); two courtiers riding camels and holding sacrificial clubs; three royal spouses riding side-saddle (the one at the top is missing); an elephant, which probably carried the queen; and the royal mausoleum with various figures standing in front, including a warrior. FG

object resembling a key. Fragment CA-2765 (5c) shows a crowned female figure holding a pestle and mortar, and an object with two rods sticking up from it. On her left a partially preserved figure holds an incense-burner. Fragment CA-2822 (5b) depicts a male figure holding an incense burner with his left hand resting on a sword with an animal-headed hilt. Fragment CA-2873 (5f) shows the three figures described above together. Fragments CA-2976 (5d) and CA-2977 (5e) show a male figure with a shovel under his left hand and an object in his right hand and to his right, a female figure holding a plant. Despite these six figures appearing to be the result of a single craftsman and fitting the theme of Grenet’s widely accepted idea, namely the depiction of the six Amesha Spentas, there are no existing fragments of ossuaries where the two last figures were depicted together with the four other ones, and so the reconstruction remains disputable. LYK

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THE EXCAVATION OF PANJIKENT The site of Panjikent (early medieval Panchkath) is located near the modern town of the same name in Tajikistan. The ruins represent the easternmost town of Sogdiana, its capital Samarkand being 60 km to the west. Owing to the preservation of the archaeological site and 70 years continuous work by archaeologists from St. Petersburg and Tajikistan, it has become the best known early medieval monument in Central Asia. The city prospered between the 5th and 8th centuries CE. In 722 it was conquered by the Arabs but revived again before being abandoned in the 760s. The moderately sized city, with a population of not more than 10,000, consisted of a walled inner town, a citadel with a palace, surrounded by village houses and a necropolis to the south. The latter comprised elevated vaults (nauses) in which ossuaries were placed. At the centre of the city were two

7 • Panjikent aerial photo, view from the east, 2014. Photograph: P. Lurje

6 • Reception hall of a prosperous house owner, Panjikent Reconstruction by B.I. Marshak, S. Gil’ and R. Vafeev.

8 • B.I. Marshak (with grandson) and restorer G.I. Ter-Oganian at the sculpture of lion, 1991 Photograph: V.I. Raspopova from the archive of Panjikent

expedition.

9 • Entrance (ivan) to the temple Reconstruction by B.I. Marshak and V.G. Shkoda

11 • Tomb of B.I. Marshak (1933-2006) at the site of Panjikent Photograph: U. Sims-Williams

temples, identical in form and development, located next to one another. The temple area consisted of a cella with a monumental portal in the west, a huge yard surrounded by secondary chapels and porticoes. For a short period one of the temples included a secondary fire-sanctuary. The temples, palaces and many private houses had decorated reception areas. They were adorned with the wooden carved ceilings and wall paintings, which have made ancient Panjikent so famous.

The wall paintings from Panjikent have been preserved through the efforts and expertise of restorers who established a unique method for removing and preserving this fragile material. Their skills in conservation and their understanding of this unique example of medieval art were developed during 70 years of excavation, together with new archaeological and documentary methods. During the first seven years excavations were undertaken by Alexander Yu. Yakubovsky, who was succeeded by Mikhail M. Diakonoff in 1954 and then by Alexander M. Belenitsky, and later Boris I. Marshak until his death in 2006. All of them made exceptional contributions to the understanding of the site. The present author has directed excavations since 2010; every year we encounter new, and often astonishing examples of wall painting. PL

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10 • Wall-painting of lower palace in situ, 2012 Photograph: M.B. Gervais.

BEASTS, REAL AND IMAGINEDAt the Ancient Persian palace complex of Persepolis, lions (or leonine-like creatures), bulls, and griffins appear in various contexts (Catalogue 63, 64, 67, 72, 73), including the double-headed stone capitals atop the tall columns of the Apadana. Griffins also appear on the Apadana tribute relief: Armenian envoys carry a tall, beak-spouted vessel, with a griffin on each of the two handles: and the Lydian delegation bears an armlet with a griffin at each end. The Oxus treasure contained gold examples of such an armlet, depicting elaborate horned griffins, with their paws extended, as on the stone capitals of Persepolis, and with unfurled wings.

Such animal protomes also formed the forepart of rhytons found in both Achaemenid and Parthian-era locations. One variation of rhyton depicted the animal with wings, including lions (Catalogue 176). Such real or hybrid animals seem to have been perceived as symbols of royal power - a connection that reflects Near Eastern concepts. This association, along with the iconography, endures into the Sasanian period and beyond.

It has been suggested that the inspiration for the hybrid dog-headed, dog-pawed, winged, and feather-

tailed animal, which is commonly identified as the senmurv, may be found in some of these Achaemenid precursors. 5 This polymorphous ‘senmurv’ first appears in a late 5th - or early 6th - century mural in Temple II at Panjikent, 6 and is then found, with subtle variations, in late Sasanian, early Islamic and even Byzantine iconography; sometimes the front legs are leonine, and the tail may be like a peacock’s, or scaled like a fish (Catalogue 87, 88, 89). The image is replicated as a motif on the caftan of one of the eastern Iranian delegates depicted in the 7th century mural on the western wall of the palace at Afrasiab, and on textiles from Central Asia (Supplement 13) 7.

One of the Avestan hymns describes the ‘great bird Saena’ (Yt. 14.41), and it is from the compound term ‘Saena meregha’ (Saena bird) that the Middle Persian senmurv, and the Persian simorgh both derive. The Middle Persian Zoroastrian texts Bundahishn and Vizidagiha i Zadspram both contain passages that draw parallels between the senmurv and the bat. 8 This may be because of the composite mammal-bird nature of each animal, the one real, the other mythical. 9 In both Zoroastrian texts and in Ferdowsi’s New Persian Shahnameh, which re-tells Iranian national history up to the end of the Sasanian period, the senmurv is always a bird. Post-Mongol versions of the Shahnameh often represent the senmurv/simorgh with aspects that reflect Chinese dragon or phoenix imagery (Catalogue 113). JR

12 • Panel, carved bone, from a casket depicting a griffin Byzantine or Italy • 11th century • Carved bone • 6.2 x 4.8 (bottom) 4.7 cm (top) Victoria and Albert Museum, A.74-1925

The panel depicts a seated bird-like creature, with two paws and a slender animal's head, its feathered tail and wings standing erect. There are remains of gilding on the tail and wings. There are several holes pierced in the plain border and ground, one of which contains an ivory pin. The plaque was originally part of a casket which was decorated with mythical and real creatures. JF

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below 13 • Patterned silk fragment with large senmurv in roundel Iran or Central Asia • 8th century • Weft-faced com-pound silk twill • 36.5 x 54.3 cm max Victoria and Albert Museum, 8579-1863

right 14 • Fragment, yellow and green compound silk twill with confronted lions in roundels Possibly Bukhara, Uzbekistan • 800-1000 CE • Pattern woven polychrome silk • 48 x 27.5 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, 763-1893

This silk fragment was found in the reliquary of the head of St Helena in the church of St Leu in Paris. The pearled circles and crescent roundels are seen as symbols related to Sasanian royal imagery. Common mythical beasts in Sasanian mythology included winged horses and lions, but the most prominent was the senmurv, part bird/part beast, originating from both ancient Babylonian and Assyrian cultures and the sea-horse of Greek art. With the conquest of Iran by the Arabs, the designs of Sasanian workshops were included in their own silk weavings. At this time Greek art had already been incorporated into relics from the Sasanian dynasty, and more particularly Islamic textile arts. JF

This silk textile belongs to a group of Central Asian textiles previously referred to as ‘Zandaniji’. 10 Similar textiles have been found in Western European cathedrals from the medieval period, and in the east. These textiles illustrate the breadth of the silk trade and the extent to which they were valued in East and West. Unlike other textiles this one incorporates design influenced by Sasanian art. JF

15 • Fragment of polychrome patterned silk with senmurvs Possibly Iran or Turkey • 8th- 9th century • Pattern woven silk • 29 x 31.3 cm Victoria and Albert Museum, 761-1893

This silk fragment, showing the senmurv enclosed in a roundel of pearls, was found in the tomb of a bishop in Verdun Cathedral, France. It is possible that complete fragments were taken, pieced together then sold as a more complete item. The scope of the trade route between China and the Mediterranean, and the flourishing of relations with foreign powers, impacted upon the stylistic development of Sasanian art. 11 The discovery of this fragment and the existence of imported silks in European churches and tombs, illustrates the extent to which patterned silks were both desired by European rulers and valued for religious uses, such as wrapping relics. JF

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‘Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came magoi from the east to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him”.’

This is how the Gospel of Matthew, dating to the late 1st century CE, introduces the account of the visit of the Wise Men. The word magoi used by Matthew to refer to them is an Iranian technical term for a Zoroastrian priest. The word is found both in the Avesta, the sacred texts of the Zoroastrians and in the great rock-cut Old Persian inscription of Darius the Great at Bisitun in western Iran. After the Persian king defeated the rebel Gaumata in 520 BCE, he described him in the inscription as a magush. It also occurs on clay tablets from Persepolis, dating from the years 509–494 BCE. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus mentions magi when describing the ancient Persians in the middle of the 5th century BCE, and a century later the Greek author Xenophon refers to Persian magi as authorities in all religious matters.

Matthew wrote his Gospel in Antiochia, a city known as a centre where Zoroastrian traders and travellers formed a community. The memory of the Iranian provenance of the Magi lives on in Christian art where they are usually dressed in the elaborate Parthian costume of belted tunic or jacket, trousers with a vertical decorated central strip and a cloak. A soft hat covers the head. It is also fascinating to observe how some portrayals of the nativity scene show the hand(s) of the first magush covered when presenting his gift. This is clearly a sign of respect and piety, also found on the ancient Persian tomb reliefs of Naqsh-i Rostam near Persepolis to Sasanian rock-reliefs of the 3rd century CE and up to 19th-early 20th century Qajar art. In Zoroastrianism, the covering of the hands is also common in religious

ceremonies. Matthew’s account does not refer to the number of magi, but be does mention three gifts which they offer to the new-born Christ: gold, myrrh and frankincense. From this the later tradition derived that there were three magi.

The Iranian connection of the magi also lives on in the name Caspar/Gaspar/Jaspar, one of the three Wise Men in the Christian tradition. The name derives from Iranian Gondophares/Vindafarnah meaning ‘he who is finding glory’ and was used by a series of local rulers of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom in the region of present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India during and just before the 1st century CE. Eastern Iran is the land in which the eschatological events of the Zoroastrian religion are located and where the religion was thought to have been particularly strong. In particular, the future saviour, or Saoshyant, is predicted in the Avesta to emerge from Lake Hamun in Sistan in order to defeat Evil and resurrect the dead. VSC & AH

4 JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN WORLD

THE MAGI

16 • Enamelled reliquary casket Limoges, France c 1250 CE, Late Medieval period • Gold, enamel, copper • 20.1 x 18.3 x 8.9 cm British Museum 1855 1201.8

Persian and Zoroastrian imagery has often been used to portray the biblical Wise Men or Three Kings, who came from the East. In the top register, they are shown on horseback following the first king who is pointing with his right index finger towards the star on his left. The scene below shows them on foot presenting their gifts to the infant Jesus and his mother Mary. The hand of the first king is covered as a sign of respect and piety in the Persian and Zoroastrian tradition. In both scenes they wear Persian tunics and trousers. Geometric decorations cover the back of the casket and the image of a full-length saint decorates the end panels. VSC

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‘… I long for this barsom with the libation in the Yasna’. 12 So ends the first verse of the second of the 72 chapters of the Yasna proper, the central act of priestly worship in Zoroastrianism. In the ceremony, the barsom tays refer to the thin metal rods that are laid across the crescent-shaped stands, mah-ruy, and placed on the ritual table. In earlier times the barsom (Av. baresman) consisted of a bundle of twigs, which were watered by the zot, or ritual priest, during the ritual – a custom that persists to this day despite the change from wood to metal.

The priest invokes the seven divine beings of Ahura Mazda’s creation, Amesha Spentas, early on in the Yasna. Through the doctrine of the Amesha Spentas the menog, or spiritual world is linked to the getig, or material world by means of the ritual implements used in the ceremony. The barsom represents the plant creation in the ritual, brought into being by Ameretat, the Amesha Spenta associated with Immortality. At the same time priestly ritual is linked to lay devotional life. Therefore, while priests use the plant in the sacred ritual, it is incumbent on all Zoroastrians to nurture plants and trees since they are one of the material creations of Ahura Mazda.

In the Yashts, hymns addressed to the pre-Zoroastrian and Zoroastrian divinities of the ancient world, the baresman is associated with the sacrifice. In Yt. 5.98 the divinity Aredvi Sura Anahita is described as one: ‘... round whom stood the Mazda worshippers with baresman in their hands’. 13 The word baresman here could refer to the grass straw spread beneath the feet of the sacrificial animal, which according to ancient usage also acted as a seat for the divinity who was thought to descend to partake of the sacrifice.

ON THE USE OF THE BARSOM IN ZOROASTRIANISM

Once Zoroastrianism enters recorded history there are some specific references to the barsom. The Greek author Strabo, writing in the first century BCE, mentions enclosures where magi keep their sacred fires ever-burning and who:

… entering daily, they make their incantations for about an hour, holding before the fire their bundle of rods, and wearing upon their heads high turbans of felt which reach down over their cheeks far enough to cover their lips. 14

This description corresponds with stone carvings of magi from the Seleucid and Arsacid era. It also accords well with Achaemenid depictions such as those on the gold rectangular plaques that belong to the Oxus Treasure. An example is the male figure shown on the gold plaque below (Supplement 17) holding the barsom.

Some five hundred yeas after the Arab conquest of Iran, the barsom was evidently a ritual that was practiced by Zoroastrians and recognized as such by Muslims. The tenth/eleventh century poet Ferdowsi makes mention of the barsom in his epic the Shahnameh. Following the battle between Khosrow Parviz and Bahram Chubineh the latter flees to the Emperor of China stopping on the way at the house of an old woman to ask for bread and water:

… Yalan-Sineh handed the barsom to Bahram, but he was so sunk in sorrow that he forgot to observe the ritual silence while eating. 15

In another story a miller gives refuge to the last Sasanian King, Yazdegird III, when fleeing from the Arab invaders. The King asks for barsom to hold while saying grace before a meal (reciting the dron Yasht) thus identifying himself as a Zoroastrian, which leads to his death. 16 SS

17a • Gold plaque from Oxus treasure showing figure holding the barsom Probably Takht-i Kuwad, Tajikistan • 5th - 4th century BCE, Achaemenid period • Gold • 15 x 7.5 cm British Museum 123949

This gold plaque shows a male figure wearing a belted tunic and trousers in keeping with priestly attire and holding the bundle of rods, barsom (baresman), in his right hand. His head is covered with a soft hood with neck and mouth guard. The latter could have served as the padam. He carries a short sword, akinakes, at his right side. Embroidered bands run down the length of the tunic and are also shown at the wrist. On the western façade of the Palace of Darius at Persepolis peoples coming from the north or northeast to pay tribute to the king wear costumes with similar decoration. The large number of rectangular plaques that belong to the Oxus Treasure suggests that their purpose was votive and that they probably belonged to a fire temple. 17 VSC

IMPERIAL IRAN5

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17b • Chased silver statuette of man in Persian costume holding barsom Probably Takht–i Kuwad, Tajikistan • 5th - 4th century BCE, Achaemenid period • Silver, gold • 14.8 cm British Museum 123901

18 • Throne leg (Parthian) Turkmenistan • 2nd century BCE • Ivory State Hermitage Museum SA-15047

The figure wears the long Persian dress similar to the costume of the ancient Persian kings and nobles on the reliefs at Persepolis. His headdress consists of a cap with a band tied around it. Part of his hair, eyebrows, beard and moustache are indicated by incised lines, which also appear on the upper part of his dress. The flower in his left hand is probably a stylised lotus flower. His costume is very different from that of the priestly figures on the gold plaques. VSC

Fragments of this throne-leg were found in the 1930s on the site of Old Nisa, which scholars consider a centre of the dynastic cult of Parthian Arsacid kings. The leg, decorated with acanthus leaves and a lion’s foot on a bell-shaped base, was probably part of a throne. Similar fragments have been found at sites in Macedonia, the Levant, Southern Urals, Bactria and Chorasmia. PL

19 • Bowl with a hunting scene and a simorgh Late 6th – first half of the 7th century CE • Silver, gilding • Diameter 13.4 cm State Hermitage Museum, inv. no. 57 21

The outside of this hemispherical bowl is adorned with characteristic Sasanian scenes. In the centre is a simorgh with its tongue sticking out, dog’s paws, scales on its breast and a magnificent tail. On the sides are two hunters, one of them in pursuit of a lion, the other chasing a bear. The hunters and animals are separated by small decorative bushes. This bowl was found in the Caucasus in 1895, not far from the town of Grozny. It belonged to a private individual, after whose death in 1909 it was purchased for the Imperial Hermitage Museum. MD

SASANIAN SILVER The history of gilded silver vessels made in the Sasanian Near East begins in the third and early fourth centuries CE with an initially restricted, state-controlled production. The typology of shapes is limited and the themes, narrowly focused, celebrate Iranian rule and kingship, epic and historical. By the fifth century the production has expanded and new shapes appear displaying a greater range of images and themes.18 How to interpret the new motifs is a challenging question, complicated by the fact that many of the designs closely follow Greco-Roman models. That Zoroastrian rather than Greco-Roman concepts and beliefs governed the selection of images is probable in a society governed by the elite classes for whom the unity of Church and State, of religion and royalty, was an ideal expressed in the double image on coins of an altar superimposed on a throne.

No convincing evidence supports theories that identify certain images on the silver vessels as representations of specific Zoroastrian sacred beings who are portrayed in Sasanian art only on the dynastic rock reliefs and on occasional coins. Nevertheless the Zoroastrian vision of an ordered and stable world and cosmos seems to be reflected in the composition of the designs, and the motifs accord with Zoroastrian beliefs in the richness and fullness of life. The decorated vessels were probably

more than luxury objects made of precious metal although the weights inscribed on many of them attest to the importance of their material value. As important must have been their symbolic significance as celebrations of Iranian rule and of the Zoroastrian world view.19 We can wonder too about the references to khvarnah, the Heavenly Glory and Fortune, occasionally depicted on them in the form of a supernatural creature.

In any consideration of Sasanian silver vessels it is important to distinguish between the central Sasanian realm, with its royal courts and great cities in Iran and Mesopotamia, where the silver described above was produced, and the Sasanian borderlands. The stucco wall decoration found at a fifth century site near Bandian, north of Meshed, attests to the existence in the northeast of a culture in which specific Zoroastrian cult ceremonies, not seen on works made in the central Sasanian lands, were portrayed.20 Various objects, coins, wall paintings, and clay ossuaries, produced in the Kushan Bactria and Sogd, provide clear evidence that Zoroastrian religious imagery, including the personifications of divine beings, existed in the arts of the Hellenized northeastern lands. The possibility exists, therefore, that silver vessels executed in Sasanian style and technique displaying a more openly Zoroastrian corpus of images may yet be found in border areas in the Hellenized East or in the Roman West. PH

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20 • Dish with a goddess on a panther Last quarter of the 3rd century CE • Silver • 23 cm State Hermitage Museum, inv. no. S-74 Nizhne Shakarovka 22

At the centre of the dish is a relief image of a naked goddess riding a panther or lioness. Behind her is another woman holding a horn. Surrounding the large central medallion are six smaller ones, each containing an animal protome – a bear, horse, zebu, lioness, boar and lion.23 Between the medallions are running warriors, beneath whose feet are acanthus leaves and half-palmettes. As was usual for decorative metalwork, the craftsman used the whole surface, leaving no space between images.

This is one of the earliest known examples of Sasanian metalwork. It includes foreign elements alongside Sasanian motifs. Some of the animal protomes symbolise Zoroastrian deities, while the decorative ornamentation –such as the figures of warriors – clearly reflect western, Roman influences. A goddess on a lion was a widespread subject in art of the Near East.

In technical terms the dish is typical of Sasanian metalwork in which layers were added to achieve a higher relief. It consists of two layers of metal, the upper layer chased with images, while some details such as parts of the warriors’ bodies were made separately and welded on.

On the outside of the dish is a Middle Persian inscription: ‘weight 253 drachmas, property of Pirozan.’

The dish was part of a hoard of several objects found in 1886 in Perm Province. It entered the Imperial Hermitage Museum in 1891 via the Archaeological Commission. MD

21 • King hunting a lion Klardasht, Mazandaran • Silver • 28.6 cm National Museum, Tehran Acc. No. 1275

Allegedly found in Mazandaran this plate displays the image of a princely or royal equestrian hunter shooting lions, considered by Zoroastrians to be a noxious creation of Ahriman but an ancient and prestigious quarry for ruler-hunters in the art of the Near East. The unusual headdress of the hunter is somewhat similar to early headdresses worn by figures whose images are scratched on Persepolis building stones but is unlike any crowns or headdresses worn by early Sasanian kings as they appear on the coins.24 This fact and the odd twisted position of the hunter may support the suggestion that the scene is epic/heroic in nature rather than being a standard Sasanian expression of royal prowess and invincibility, the theme of most central Sasanian hunting plates. Also unusual is the extensive landscape pattern, an image of nature, which may have placed the scene for some viewers in a Zoroastrian paradisiacal environment of mountains and sweet smelling plants. PH

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22 • Gilded silver horn rhyton Stalakhjan, Jilan • 4th century BCE • Gilded silver National Museum, Tehran Acc. No: 3995

opposite 23 • Vase rhyton with females Iran • 7th century • Silver National Museum, Tehran Acc. no. 500-2500

Found in Iran and dating from around the fourth century BCE, this pouring vessel is in the form of a horse protome which emerges from a lotus and palmette pattern. The horn then expands as it rises to the rim where there is a once-gilded lotus and bud pattern. A spout placed between the bent forelegs which are made of separate pieces of metal, allowed the wine to pass as a stream from the vessel. This type of rhyton was an immensely popular ceremonial and cult vessel in the Greco-Roman West and in the Achaemenid, Seleucid and Parthian Near East. 25 Decorated with various animals (felines, caprids bovines and stags) as well as fantastic creatures, the horn rhyton appears in the arts of the Hellenized world in scenes of banquet and libation. It is, therefore, somewhat surprising that there is so little evidence of the horn rhyton in the following Sasanian period. Perhaps the many cult associations of the vessel discouraged its wider use in a Sasanian Zoroastrian environment where meals were solemn, indeed sacred, occasions and cult activities were rarely portrayed. PH

In a common theme on Sasanian silver vases and ewers, dancing female figures, sometimes nude and sometimes clothed, are placed within arched frames and hold specific objects: fruit, flowers, animals, children, vessels and cornucopias. The images are related to representations of the Seasons and Months in Greco-Roman art. 26 While the appearance of the scenes on Sasanian silver vessels indicates influences from the art of the Hellenized West, the importance in Zoroastrian Iran of the divinely inspired and constructed calendar with its arrangement of festivals and celebrations in the days and months of the year

made it an appropriate theme for the decoration of the court silver vessels. The small musicians and the dancing pose of the ladies on the silver vessels may be explained by the large role of music in Zoroastrian celebrations and concepts of Paradise, the House of Song.

The arched setting in which the figures are placed suggests that a significant action is portrayed, an idea supported in this instance by the presence of a so-called senmurv (probably an image of khvarenah (Glory/Fortune)) on the base. The two monstrous leonine heads which form the spouts are not unlike the earlier stucco lion spout from Hajiabad (Catalogue 339). PH

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24 • Gilded silver dish with watery scenes Rasht, Gilan • Silver National Museum, Tehran Acc. No. 4115

Elaborate water scenes of this type are rarely depicted on the Sasanian silver plates that have survived although many minor vessels refer in their decoration to the watery world of fish and birds. The distant model for this more elaborate scene is probably some version of Nilotic imagery a subject which was popular in the art of the late east Roman world. On Roman examples, fishermen in boats spear and net fish, the varieties depicted in considerable detail, among occasional water monsters, Nilotic plants and Nereids. 27 Another subject depicted on Roman silver vessels is Oceanus, a personification of the world ocean, accompanied by Nereids, Tritons and hybrid sea monsters. 28 In contrast to these crowded and often chaotic ‘natural’ scenes, the Sasanian representations are simplified and ordered although they are also, in all probability, a celebration of the fertility of the waters, a most sacred element in the Zoroastrian universe.

The neat quartering of the plate’s surface is apparent in the placement of the four boats and by the arrangement of the apparently benevolent supernatural creatures, combinations of animal fish and bird. The small nude ‘swimmers’, in two cases winged, also place the scene in an other-worldly perhaps paradisiacal environment.

The life-giving significance of Water for Zoroastrian believers is evident in Zoroastrian creation accounts concerning the sea Vourukasha and the flat plate at its center from which mountains arise. 29 On this plate the central disc may refer to the earth, the habitat of the guinea fowl appearing on it. Certainly an expression of the richness and fertility of the waters, the scene on the gilded silver plate may also have paradisiacal and cosmological significance. PH

42

25 • Dish with Bahram Gur and Azada Late 6th – first half of the 7th century • Silver, traces of gilding • 21.7 cm State Hermitage Museum, inv. no. 252 30

26 • Bronze plaque Hamadan • Bronze • 3 x 35 cm National Museum of Iran, Tehran 1391

27 • Silver plate with king on a horse with winged figure holding diadem Provenance unknown • silver • 23 x 4.5 cm National Museum of Iran, Tehran 5116

Much of the surface of this dish is occupied by a rider on a camel. He pulls back his bow to release arrows at fast-running gazelles, three bucks and a doe. One of his arrows has cut through the antler of a buck while two others have pierced the doe’s forehead, giving her the appearance of a buck with antlers. In this way the buck appears without antlers while the doe is transformed into a buck displaying the prowess of the archer. A woman seated behind the rider on the camel has one arm raised in a gesture of adoration.

This is clearly a scene showing King Bahram Gur and his Roman slave/concubine Azada. Bahram Gur was a Sasanian ruler who became a popular hero in Persian literature and art, not only during the Sasanian period, but in subsequent centuries. The subject of Bahram Gur and Azada out hunting appears frequently in Persian miniatures.

Despite the expressive nature of the image, the craftsman’s work appears crude. The camel is rather too small for his rider, his neck too slender; Bahram Gur’s features are angular and schematic. The figure of Azada is disproportionately small beside that of the king, although this was probably a way of emphasising her lowly status. In accordance with the conventions of Sasanian art the king’s face is shown in profile but his eye and his shoulders are presented frontally. The craftsman carefully depicted the minor details of the clothing, shoes and jewellery, again in the manner characteristic of Sasanian metalwork. In contrast with the static and clumsy camel, the gazelles seem almost to fly as they flee.

Engraved on the bottom of the vessel is an inscription of three lines: ‘Property of Mihrbozed. 250 drachma weight.’

The dish was found in 1927 by a shepherd in Vyatka Province. The hoard included Iranian, Byzantine and Central Asian objects. MD

The griffin appearing on this plaque differs from most Sasanian examples as depicted on seal stones and in other media of art. In Sasanian images, the griffin is shown with upright ears and usually in a springing or crouching pose. The griffin motif had royal connotations in Sasanian art where it supports thrones and decorates princely headdresses. The leonine pose of this griffin and the absence of ears are indications that the object was not made in a Sasanian workshop. JF

The diadem-bearing putto appears on early Sasanian and Parthian rock reliefs and is influenced by Roman art. The putto appears on late Sasanian plates, hovering over a banqueting king or in mythological scenes, which is likely a reference to the invincibility of the monarch rather than to Zoroastrian concepts. JF

45

28 • Stucco with lion pattern Hajiabad, Fars • 4th century CE • Plaster lion’s head enclosed in a circular frame • 18 x 11.5 cm National Museum of Iran, Tehran, 4693

29 • Stucco with boar’s head Tape Hesar, Damghan • 40 x 38 cm National Museum of Iran, 609

This piece was discovered in Hajiabad at a site excavated by Dr Azarnoosh in 1978, in a building complex dating from the reign of Shahpur II where fragments of stucco depicting decorative motifs, figurines and fantastical creatures were found. ZA

The motif of a boar’s head is frequently found on Sasanian textiles and stucco work. In one of the ancient Yashts (hymns addressed to the divinities of Zoroastrian and pre-Zoroastrian divinities) of the Avesta, the boar is one of ten manifestation of the Verethraghna, a divinity associated with strength and victory in battle . (Yt. 14.15). MA

30 • Stone relief showing a winged figure Persepolis, Iran • stone • 68 x 33 cm National Museum of Iran, Tehran, 8

The stone relief from Persepolis shows a bearded male figure with a long tiara inside a winged disc, holding a ring in his left hand and the right hand raised. He wears a Persian court style dress. Similar representations of deities holding the ring of power towards a king can be found in the royal iconography from ancient Mesopotamia to the Sasanian Period. The form of winged figures vary from the Egyptian god Horus to the Assyrian god, Ashur. There are several types of winged figures in Achaemenid art with different forms of wings, holding either rings or a lotus. The type of winged figure holding a ring is often interpreted as the Achaemenid supreme god Ahuramazda, or farr (divine glory), or in a Zoroastrian context as a fravahar. This winged figure is one of the last reliefs carved at Persepolis. The artistic style relates it to the reign of Artaxerxes III (359-338 BCE) at the end of the Achaemenid period. The size and the rosette band demonstrate that the relief was probably decorating the central façade of a building’s staircase. Although the exact find spot of the relief is unclear, considering the style and some details, it probably belonged to Palace G (founded by Artaxerxes III). The building has now disappeared, except for the foundations and some scattered or reinstalled reliefs left at the site. SR

46 47

MAZDAKISMMazdakism was a heretical movement within Zoroastrianism that caused considerable social upheaval in Sasanian Iran during the 5th and 6th centuries CE by demanding that men should share property and women in common. Its eponymous founder was Mazdak, son of Bamdad, a religious leader and follower of the teachings of a certain Zaradusht-i Khurragan of Fasa, who is described as a contemporary of Mani (d. 277 CE) and said to have introduced innovations into Zoroastrianism. According to Ferdowsi’s epic the Shahnameh, Mazdak proclaimed:

There are five things which turn wise men from the truth. They are envy, anger, hatred, and needs which are usually followed by greed. If you overcome these five Divs, the path of the Lord of the universe will emerge clearly before you. The incitements to these five are worldly possessions and women. It is because of this that the Good Religion has waned in the world. If you wish to avert harm from the Good Religion, women and possessions must be shared in common.31 Mazdak taught that God had created all men alike and hence all means of sustenance and procreation should be divided up equally between them. Women and property should be held in partnership like water, fire and pasture. Nobody should have more than others, and sharing was a religious duty. Mazdak is said to have succeeded in convincing the ruler Kavad I (r. 488–496, 498–531) of his ideas. Under

Mazdak’s influence Kavad implemented some of them, in particular those concerning women, and chaos ensued in which the common people rose up against the rich, stealing their wives and property, and people grew confused about their parentage and family line. In 496, in an attempt to reintroduce order, a group of insurgent nobles and priests dethroned Kavad for heresy and expelled him to the realm of the Hephthalites to the east of the empire, but Kavad regained the throne with Hephthalite help two years later and ruled without interruption for another 33 years until his death in 531 CE.

Kavad’s son and successor Khosrow I Anoshirvan (r. 531–579) crushed the revolt and executed Mazdak and a large number of his followers. According to the Shahnameh, Khosrow turned the execution into a spectacle and Ferdowsi concludes his account with a moral admonition:

Kasrā [= Khosrow] owned an estate with high walls. He ordered holes to be dug there and had the followers of Mazdak implanted, heads in the ground and feet upwards. Then to Mazdak Kasrā said, “Go to that magnificent garden and see how the seed that you have planted in this world has borne fruit. You shall see trees that no one has ever seen or heard of before.” Mazdak went and opened the garden gate. As he saw what was within he uttered a cry and fell unconscious. Then Kasrā ordered a tall gallows to be erected and strung the unfortunate man up alive, later killing him with a shower of arrows. (If you are wise, do not follow the path of Mazdak.) 32 AH

31 • The execution of Mazdak North India • Early17th century British Library Add.5600, ff. 452v-453r

The heretic Mazdak, noose around his neck, faces execution on order of Khosrow Anoshirvan. His followers are depicted beneath the gallows, buried alive upside down. This copy of the Shahnameh probably originates from the 15th century but was refurbished around 1613 in the studio of the Mughal statesman Khankhanan ‘Abd al-Rahim. The artist of this painting was the well-known Mughal painter Banwari. US-W

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The revelations of Arda Viraz (‘righteous Viraz’), or Viraf, as his name has been transcribed in Persian, were written in Pahlavi (pre-Islamic Persian) during the early Islamic period, and reflect a time of religious instability. The story is set in the reign of the founder of the Sasanian Empire, Ardashir I (r. 224-241). It describes how the Zoroastrian community selected the righteous Viraz to visit the world of the dead returning with an account of the rewards and punishments in store. Although the story did not assume its definitive form until the 9th to 10th centuries CE, it can be regarded as part of a tradition of visionary accounts, the earliest of which is found in present-day Iran in the third-century inscriptions of the Zoroastrian high priest Kirder.

Many copies of this popular story survive in both prose and verse, and several include vivid illustrations. One (Catalogue 101) is the Arda Viraf Nameh composed in Iran in verse at the end of the 13th century by Zartosht Bahram Pazhdu and copied in Navsari in 1789. Also on display is another illustrated copy of the same work completed 47 years earlier in Surat in 1742 by Mobad Rostam ibn Bahram ibn Darab ibn Sohrab ibn Manak ibn Peshotan Sanjanah who also copied an Avestan Videvdad sadah in Surat in 1759. 33 This volume contains in addition to the Arda Viraf Nameh, a poem about a meeting of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna (r. 998-1039) with a Zoroastrian dastur. 34 The illustrations in Catalogue 101 and the National Museum manuscript are very similar showing a continuity of style in this kind of didactic literature which re-enforces the story’s underlying importance as a Zoroastrian pedagogic text. US-W

6 POST ARAB CONQUEST

THE REVELATIONS OF VIRAZ THE JUST

32 • The reward of the obedient wife Surat • 1742 • Paper National Museum, 54.16/2, folio 55r

This illustration is titled ‘The souls of the women who were obedient to their husbands’. It forms an exact counterpart to Catalogue 101 in which we see the punishments meted out in hell to the souls of wives who disobey their husbands and argue with them. In contrast, the wives here are portrayed in a paradisiacal garden surrounded by flowers and trees and a flowing stream. Watching them are Arda Viraf (centre) with his two guides, the divinities Srosh and Ardibehesht Amshasfand. This manuscript copy of the Arda Viraf Nameh by Zartosht Bahram Pazhdu is dated 1742 and contains 117 illustrations in the Western Indian style. US-W

50 51

THE SHAHNAMEHThe Shahnameh is a classic work written by the great poet of Iran, Abol Qasim Ferdowsi. He took more than thirty years to complete this masterpiece, which consists of more than 60,000 verses. Composed in Persian, the poetry narrates the heroic deeds, valour, achievements, and love stories of the Kings of Iran from the time of the mythical Gayomars to the last Sasanian king, Yazdegerd III (d. 651). Each of the fifty chapters in the Shahnameh highlights the actions and achievements of each king. Offering a glimpse into cultural and political aspects of Iranian royal life, the Shahnameh also reveals its social customs, traditions, and architecture, thus weaving a complete narrative of the history, culture and civilization of Iran from ancient times to the Islamic conquest. Subsequently it has played a significant role in the development of Iranian culture and has enriched both the Persian language and its literature. Reciting and attending Shahnameh performances became an established tradition in Iran and there are many versions of the stories in both poetry and prose.

The Shahnameh on display (National Museum, Delhi Acc. No. L 53.2/8) was copied in Lahore by Malik Sharafuddin Qadiri and dates from 1246 AH/1830 CE. It contains one hundred and fifty nine beautiful

paintings of the Lahore school, which are considered to be by the well-known artist Imam Bakhsh Lahauri. The manuscript has two prefaces, the first with four illustrations and a highly illuminated frontispiece (sar-i lawh) displaying intricate geometrical ornamentation. The initial illustrations portray Ferdowsi as a central figure. The second preface has three illustrated folios. The first depicts Ferdowsi reciting the Shahnameh before Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna and is followed by paintings of Solomon and Sheba on facing pages.

The miniatures show the use of precious pigments derived from lapis lazuli and gold, together with shades and hues of green, red and blue. They depict scenes from the royal court, gardens and battle scenes. Human figures have been treated with utmost care showing each one in a variety of costumes, headgears and engaged in various activities. Similarly, the flora and fauna are depicted in detail, embellishing the horizons and giving perspective to the illustrations. The first two pages of the Shahnameh are illustrated ornately with gold and lapis lazuli on floral patterns. The text is written in nastaliq calligraphy, enhanced by Imam Bakhsh’s illustrations which, though in a later Mughal style, present a synthesis, or assimilation of the indigenous form combined with Persian aesthetics. KR

33 • The battle of Rostam with Afrasiyab Lahore • 1246 AH/1830 CE • Opaque watercolour and ink on paper • 42.3 x 27.3 cm National Museum Delhi Acc. No. L 53.2/8, f. 248r

The encounters between the enemy kingdoms of Iran and Turan (Airya and Turya of the Avesta) that are the subject of the heroic section of the Shahnameh produce heroes on each side. While the hero Rostam (Supplement 1-3) is not mentioned in the Avesta his enemy Afrasiyab, the king of Turan, is Frangrasyan of the Avesta who is described there as evil and villainous. He is depicted as the chief enemy of the Iranian race who constantly strove to capture the divine fortune or glory (khvarenah) which would enable him to rule. 35 The episode illustrated in the Shahnameh here occurs at the end of the story of Bizhan and Manizheh (Afrasiyab’s daughter). Having freed Bizhan from the cave where he had been held Afrasiyab’s prisoner, Rostam provokes an enraged Afrasiyab into battle. Afrasisiyab, thoroughly defeated, retreats leaving his army, elephants and equipment to be captured by Rostam. KR

52 53

34 • Zal summons the Simorgh when Rostam is wounded Lahore • 1246 AH/1830 CE • Opaque watercolour and ink on paper • 42.3 x 27.3 cm National Museum Delhi Acc. No. L 53.2/8, folio 376r

The Shahnameh describes how in the battle between Rostam and King Goshtasp’s son Esfandiyar, Rostam was seriously wounded and returned to his father’s court in Zabolistan. Zal summoned help from the Simorgh by burning one of her feathers (see Catalogue p. 132, 133, 154). The Simorgh first reprimands Rostam for confronting Esfandiyar (who is not only of royal descent but can also claim divine lineage since king Goshtasp was Zoroaster’s first follower and subsequently made immune from misfortune). 36 She then heals Rostam and Rakhsh’s wounds and shows Rostam how to make an arrow of tamarisk wood with which he could kill Esfandiyar should it be necessary. KR

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In the ancient world coins were used to show various Zoroastrian divinities (yazatas) who were associated with the khvarenah, or kingly glory, as well as the rituals in connection with the royal fire. The Kushan kings of Bactria used a mixture of Hindu and Zoroastrian deities on their coins and both coin and royal inscriptions such as the Bactrian inscription discovered at Rabatak in Afghanistan suggest that the Kushan pantheon included Iranian divinities.

The inscriptions on Kushan coins are in Bactrian, an Iranian language using the Greek script. On one side they show the ruler and on the other an image of the god who is individually named. VSC

7 JOURNEY AND SETTLEMENT

‘ZOROASTRIAN’ COINS 35 • Gold coins of King Kanishka India • Kushan period, 127–50 CE • Diameter: (a- c, f ) 20 mm; (d, e, g - i) 19 mm (a) 1888,1208.555; (b) IOC.321; (c) 1860,1220.203; (d) 1879,0501.30;

(e) IOC.343; (f ) 1879,0501.84; (g) 1894,0506.17; (h) 1894,0506.13;

(i) 1860,1220.209

On display are coins depicting: the goddess Nana (generally equated with Anahita the Zoroastrian goddess of waters and fertility) seated on a lion (a) and standing (b); Pharro/Khvarenah,’kingly glory’, holding a staff and flames (d), and wearing a winged crown (c,e); Miro/Mithra (f,g) also written Muro; Mao/Mah. ‘moon’ (h); and Athsho, the Bactrian word for ‘fire’ (i). VSC

a

d

g

b

e

h

c

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36 • Silver coins of Persis Iran • c. 280–100 BCE • Diameter: ( j) 30 mm; (k) 19 mm British Museum ( j) 1856,1201.1; k (a) 1848,0803.175; k(b)1919,1226.3

The kings of Persis (Pars/Fars) in southern Iran also used an iconography related to the Zoroastrian religion. The theme of the king as worshipper – making offerings to the sacred fire in the presence of the winged symbol (j) – is noticeable on the coins of Persis around the third century BCE, when Achaemenid Persian traditions were re-emerging in the aftermath of Alexander’s conquest. From the second century BCE to the first and second centuries CE, when Persis was under Parthian rule, the coins show the king worshipping in front of a fire altar. Below (k), we see the portrait of the local king in royal Parthian attire, wearing a bejewelled tiara with neckguard and earflaps on the obverse. The reverse shows a worshipper, probably the king, standing in front of a fire altar holding the consecrated sticks, the baresman/barsom, in his hand.

It is from Persis that the new dynasty of the Sasanians emerges in the early third century CE when Zoroastrianism became the state religion of Iran (see Catalogue pp. 120-37). VSC

The Bisitun inscription and texts from Persepolis show that the Ancient Persians initially used a luni-solar calendar similar to that of the Babylonians, with twelve months of thirty days each, and some system of intercalation to regulate the length of year. The names of the months related to specific seasonal activity, such as ‘harvesting;’ to religious praxis, such as ‘the worship of fire;’ or referred to the time of the year according to temperature, such as ‘the stage of heat.’

When the Ancient Persians adapted the Egyptian calendar around the early 5th century BCE, five epagomenal days were added at the end of the year; this maintained the beginning of the calendar in the spring and the seasonal festivals at the correct time. A Cappadocian solar calendar, attested in Greek astronomical texts, appears to have implemented a calendar based on the Avesta, including a particular time dedicated to the fravashis – a time also mentioned in Elamite texts from Persepolis. The Avestan calendar was in place during the Seleucid then Parthian period, and became the model for the modern liturgical calendar of the Zoroastrians. The other months of the religious calendar were named after the creator (Av. dadvah) Ahura Mazda, the six amesha spentas, and the yazatas Mithra, Tishtrya, the waters (aban), and fire (atar). A day in the month was named after each of these four yazatas respectively.

By the beginning of the Sasanian period, the 365-day year introduced earlier had shifted the liturgical calendar out of sync with the natural year; the month Farvardin had receded from the spring equinox to late summer. To restore Noruz (the day of the spring equinox) and the other seasonal festivals to their original settings, the calendar was recalibrated sometime around 500 CE. This adjustment placed Nowruz at the beginning of the ninth month (Adar), although some continued to celebrate it at the beginning of the first month of the year (on 1 Farvardin). Further calendrical modifications implemented in the 11th century under the Persian Shi’a Buyids and the Seljuqs (with the introduction of the Jalali solar calendar), returned Nowruz to 1 Farvardin, which was once again in the spring.

At present, three different calendars operate within Parsi communities. These are known as Qadimi (‘old’); Rasmi (‘traditional’) or Shenshai (derived from Shahanshahi, ‘imperial’); and Fasli (‘seasonal’). Due to a one-time intercalation initiated by the Parsis in the early medieval period, the Parsi (Shenshai) calendar months occurred a month later than that of the Iranian calendar. In the 18th century, some Parsi

At the beginning of the Mughal Emperor Akbar’s reign (r. 1556-1605), there were many different calendrical systems in use throughout India, some lunar and some solar, each with different starting points. Besides the Vikram Samvat, the Hijri, the Yazdegerdi and the Jalali eras there were innumerable regional variations. To simplify matters, while at the same time glorifying the start of his own reign, in 1584 Akbar employed the celebrated Iranian philosopher and scientist Fath Allah Shirazi to devise a new ‘Divine’ era, the Tarikh-i Ilahi, which was backdated to 21 March 1556. `Like the Jalali era established by the Seljuq Malik Shah in 1079, the beginning of the Tarikh-i Ilahi coincided with the vernal equinox. It was a solar year and used the Iranian (Zoroastrian in origin) month and day names. The details are described in the official history of the reign, the Akbarnamah (Supplement 37), compiled by Abu’l-Fazl, Akbar’s chief minister. In addition to setting out the month and day names, Akbar re-introduced thirteen festivals which, Abu’l-Fazl wrote, had been observed for the last thousand years by just princes and righteous philosophers, but had fallen from favour in India. These were the Zoroastrian festivals of Noruz, 19th Farvardin (Farvardegan), 3rd Ardibehesht (Jashn of Ardvahisht), 6th Khordad (Khordadgan), 13th Tir (Tirgan), 7th Mordad (Jashn of Amordad), 4th Shahrevar (Jashn of Shahrevar), 16th Mehr (Mehrgan), 10th Aban (Abanagan), 9th Azar (Azargan) , 8th, 15th and 23rd Dai (Jashn-i dadvah ‘the Creator’), 2nd Bahman (Bahmanagan), and 5th Esfandarmaz (Esfandgan). Observing these festivals was decreed to be compulsory although it is doubtful if many were commonly celebrated by non-Zoroastrians. US-W

THE ZOROASTRIAN CALENDAR

ZOROASTRIANISM AND THE MUGHALS AKBAR INAUGURATES A NEW ‘DIVINE ERA’

laity began to adopt the Iranian (Qadimi) calendar, although the majority retained their Shenshai version. Zoroastrian reformists in early 20th -century India adopted the Fasli calendar, based on the Jalali system used in Iran. The Fasli calendar locates Noruz on the spring equinox and intercalates one day every four years at the end of the year. Zoroastrians in Iran largely keep to the Bastani or ‘ancient’ calendar, which is in line with the Fasli calendar. JR

j

k (b)

k (a)

58 59

37 • Akbar’s decree for establishing a new divine era North India • 20 Sha‘ban 1232 (1817) British Library Add. 26203, ff 161v-162r

The beginning of book two of the Akbarnameh, the official history of Akbar’s reign by Abu’l-Fazl, Akbar’s chief minister. This opening describes the inauguration in 1584 of the Tarikh-i Ilahi or ‘Divine Era’ and shows Akbar dictating the imperial edict (farman) which brought it into effect. US-W

38 • On the establishment of the new ‘Divine Era’

His Majesty, King of Kings, through his fortune and greatness and by divine inspiration, himself designated this glorious epoch the Divine Era (Tarikh-i Ilahi) and it was recorded in official documents and registers. The names of the months of the Era were made identical with the well-known names of the Persian months, but were additionally named ‘Divine’ (Ilahi) - for example: Farvardin, Divine month, Ardibehesht, Divine month. The names of the days were the same as those of the current thirty Persian days, arranged in this order:

Ormazd, Bahman, Ardibehesht, Shahrevar, Esfandarmad, Khordad, Amordad, Depadar, Adar, Aban, Khor, Mah, Tir, Gosh, Depamehr, Mehr, Srosh, Rashn, Farvardin, Bahram, Ram, Bad, Depadin, Din, Ard, Ashtad, Asman, Zamyad, Maresfand, Aneran. Akbarnameh, vol. 2

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39 • Gold mohurs of the Emperor Akbar India • Mughal, 1556–1605 • Diameter: (l) 18 mm, (m) 19 mm, (n) 17 mm (p, r) 22 mm, (o) 25 mm, (q), 20 mm, (s) 24 mm British Museum (l) 1888,1208.705; (m) 1847,1201.1456; (n)

1938,0704.8; (o) 1888,1208.706; (p) Marsden DCCCXXXII (1832);

(q) 1938,0616.2; (r) 1938,1109.1; (s) 1911,0709.93

These coins of the Emperor Akbar show the Zoroastrian month names. On display are coins dedicated to the months: (l, m) Farvardin (March/April) the first month of the year, (n) Ardibehesht (April/May), (o) Khordad (May/June), (p) Amordad (July/August), (q) Shahrevar (August/September), (r) Mehr (September/October) and (s) Esfand (Feb/March) the last month of the year. Mehr is the name of the Iranian god of the sun, seasons and contracts, Mithra. Azar is fire.

40 • Gold mohurs of Jahangir India • Mughal, 1605–1627 • Diameter: (t, w) 24 mm, (u) 21 mm, (v) 23 mm British Museum (t) 1924 1111.3, (u) 1922,0424.17, (v) 1885,0403.23,

(w) 1922,1016.

These coins show the Zoroastrian months (t) Tir (June/July), (u) Aban (October/ November), (v) Day (December/January) and (w) Bahman (January/ February). Aban is Anahita, the goddess of All Waters and Fertility. Bahman/Vohu Manah (‘Good Purpose, Intention’) is one of the seven holy creations (amesha spentas). VSC

l

o p q w

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m n t u v

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Although contemporary sources do not actually mention Meherji Rana (1514-1591) by name, they do refer to the presence of a Parsi priest at the court of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605). Contemporary Mughal documents granting him title and lands, however, attest to his relative importance, and, taken with evidence adduced from later sources, it has been compellingly argued that Meherji Rana did in fact personally present Zoroastrian views at Akbar’s court.

Meherji Rana’s importance today as a historical figure, and his position in Parsi historiography, is the result of the prominence attributed by the community in recognition of this role. From being an unrecognized minority on the periphery of the Islamic world, Parsis view this event as a turning point in their history, marking the acknowledgment of their faith at the Mughal court. Akbar’s vizier, Abu’l-Fazl, mentions that Parsis took part in the famous debates held in the 'Ibadat-khaneh (‘House of Worship’) at Fatehpur Sikri in 1578 and the historian ‘Abd al-Qadir Bada’uni writes in more detail:

Fire-worshippers also had come from Nausárí in Gujrát, and proved to His Majesty the truth of Zoroaster's doctrines. They called fire-worship ‘the great worship,’ and impressed the emperor so favorably, that he learned from them the religious terms and rites of the old Pársís, and ordered Abulfazl to make arrangements, that sacred fire should be kept burning at court by day and by night, according to the custom of the ancient Persian kings, in whose fire-temples it had been continually burning; for fire was one of the manifestations of God, and ‘a ray of His rays’. 37

A series of contemporary Mughal documents, first published by J.J. Modi, 38 provide evidence of a direct link between Meherji Rana and Akbar. The earliest is a farman in Persian dated 10 Esfandarmaz regnal year 40 (1596) granting 300 bighas of land as madad-i ma'ash (daily sustenance) to Meherji Rana’s son Kaikobad. It continues and extends an earlier grant of land at Navsari which was made to his father. The original grant is no longer preserved but references to it are included in several documents.

Later sources such as the early nineteenth-century poetical biography of Meherji Rana, the Mahyarnameh 39 (MRL MS F81), and songs traditionally ascribed to the Mughal musician Tansen describe how it was due to Meherji Rana’s influence,

Of those who exerted an undoubted influence on Akbar’s religious policies, one of the more charismatic was Azar Kayvan (1533-1618) who emigrated with his disciples from the repressive Shi’ism of Safavid Iran in the 1570s and settled in Mughal India at the invitation of the emperor Akbar and his chief minister Abu’l-Fazl. The Azar Kayvanis (known also as Azaris, Abadis, Yazdanis or Sipasis) propounded a neo-Zoroastrian world-view, which sought to reconcile the pre-Islamic past with Islamic philosophy, particularly millenarian or more specifically Nuqtavi ideas. 41

The Azar Kayvani cosmos consisted of cycles governed by planets and fixed stars, beginning with the pre-Adamite age of Mahabad (‘the Great Abad’). Ritual worship took place in temples dedicated to

THE DASTUR AND THE EMPEROR–MEHERJI RANA AT THE COURT OF AKBAR

AZAR KAYVAN AND THE DASATIR-I ASMANI

that Akbar maintained an ever burning fire in his court and instituted the practice of following the Zoroastrian calendar and celebrating Zoroastrian festivals (see Catalogue 37). Whether or not Meherji Rana’s encounter with Sufi saints at the 'Ibadat khaneh influenced Akbar’s theological understanding of Zoroastrianism, however, remains a matter for debate.

The elevation of Meherji Rana to a position of power and influence may have worked to the advantage of the Bhagaria priests of Navsari in their ongoing dispute with the Sanjana priests. In their role as guardians of the sacred Iranshah fire since it had been installed in Navsari, the Sanjanas had attempted to gain eminence and ecclesiastical control over the lay population. 40

There were political ramifications as well. The Parsis of Navsari and Surat were subjected to the frequent raids of the Bhil tribesmen and the arbitrary demands of petty Mughal officials. They saw in the recognition Meherji Rana received that a clear message was being sent to the marauding tribesmen and the officialdom in Navsari and Surat. The Parsi community was now under the protective shadow of the Great Emperor.

Today successive descendants of the Meherji Rana family continue to be appointed as High Priests of the Bhagaria sect of Zoroastrian priests in Navsari.FPM, US-W

41• Azar Kayvan’s ‘Celestial rules’ Late 17th or early 18th century British Library Or.11967, ff. 1v-2r

42 • Avestan hymn to the sun Late 17th or early 18th century British Library Or.11967, ff. 51v-52r

This opening shows the beginning of the Dasatir-i asmani (‘celestial rules’). The fully vocalized ‘celestial’ language is overlined in red and followed by a Persian paraphrase and comments. US-W

Directly following the end of the Dasatir on the right-hand page, is a modified version, on the left, of the Avestan hymn, the Khorshed niyayishn ‘Praise to the sun’, transcribed into Persian script with an interlinear Persian translation. The Avestan text is overlined in red and followed by the Persian translation. US-W

the planets—see, for example, the statues of Kayvan (Saturn) and Hormazd (Jupiter) illustrated in the Dabestan-e Mazaheb (Catalogue 132), one of our most important sources for the study of the religion, composed by Mobed Shah sometime before 1658. Within this cosmological framework there was a sophisticated set of ritual and practice drawing on Indian, Islamic and Zoroastrian traditions which ultimately enabled union with the divine.

The Azar Kayvanis identified a series of pre-Islamic prophets (vakhshuran): Mahabad, Ji-Afram, Shaykiliv, Yasan, Gilshah (Gayumars), Siyamak, Hushang, Tahmuras, Jamshid, Faridun, Manuchihr, Kaykhusraw, Zartusht (Zoroaster), Sikandar (Alexander), Sasan the first and Sasan the fifth. The Dasatir-i asmani (‘celestial rules’) consist of invocations to these prophets which were composed in a special celestial (asmani) language resembling no other known language—but including elements of Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Hindi. They supposedly dated from antiquity but are generally considered to be by Azar Kayvan himself, though many are in fact translations of older texts, including prayers to the seven planets, originally composed in Arabic by al-Suhrawardi. 42 The hymns are accompanied by a Persian translation and commentary reputedly by the latest prophet, Sasan the fifth.

The copy on display dates from, at the latest, the early 18th century (the seal of a former owner is dated 1138/1725-6). It includes not only the Dasatir (Supplement 40), but Avestan and Pazand hymns to the sun (Supplement 41, a modified version of the Khorshed niyayishn) and to Gushtasp (Sitayish-i shahanshah Gushtasp az zand—identified as the Afrin i Zartusht) transcribed into Persian script with an interlinear Persian translation. There follow selected rules (dasatir) in the ‘Samrani’ language, and in Sanskrit, Hindavi, Turkish and Arabic, all in Persian script. These unique works testify to the multilingual nature of the ‘celestial’ language. Not unlike the oracles of Zoroaster (Catalogue 56), the connection between the invocations of the Dasatir and Zoroastrianism as we know it may seem tenuous, but the fact that they appear juxtaposed with Avestan hymns not only proves a close connection but is tangible evidence for a knowledge of the Avestan language in Azar Kayvan’s circle US-W

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A circular bronze plaque, embellished with a laurel wreath and fixed on the façade of the principal’s bungalow in the grounds of the Sir JJ School of Art and Architecture, states that Rudyard Kipling was born here. 43

A year before Rudyard’s birth his father, John Lockwood Kipling, was appointed to the newly created post of ‘Artist-craftsmen at the Sir JJ School of Art and Industry’, established in 1853 by Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy the First Parsi Baronet.44 One of Lockwood’s early students was the thirteen-year old aspiring artist, Pestonjee Bomanjee (1851-1938), who later became the principal portraitist of the school.

In the first art class he attended, Lockwood gave Bomanjee a small rosette to be modeled in clay. Impressed by his workmanship, Lockwood selected him to supply the ornamentation samples required for the Gothic buildings being constructed on Hornby Road, a mile and a half from the Art School.45 Thus Bomanjee began his career more as a sculptor than a portraitist.

Rudyard Kipling grew up amid the sylvan surroundings of the Sir JJ School of Art where Bomanjee frequently encountered him playing. Bomanjee described Rudyard as an impish child who, unknown to his father, would wander across the compound to the School of Art where Bomanjee and other artists were modelling and pelt them with clay pellets before being discovered and sent home by his father. Harry Ricketts notes that Rudyard

8 PARSI SALON

THE PARSI ARTIST PESTONJEE BOMANJEE AND HOW THE RHINOCEROS GOT HIS SKIN

remembered ‘vast green spaces and wonderful walks through coconut woods on the edge of the sea where the Parsees waded in and prayed to the rising sun.’ This was perhaps Kipling’s earliest memory of the Parsis. 46

His early encounters with Pestonjee Bomanjee inspired Rudyard to weave a fanciful and whimsical tale centred on the artist. It was one of the bedtime stories Rudyard told his daughter Josephine. 47

The central character, a Parsi who lived ‘on an uninhabited island on the shores of the Red Sea… and from whose hat the rays of the sun were reflected in more-than-oriental splendour’ was Rudyard’s imaginary description of Pestonjee Bomanjee. The story revolves around a Rhinoceros who rudely interrupted a Parsi just as he was beginning to eat his freshly baked cake, and how the Parsi then took revenge on the beast. The curious lesson to be learned from this strange adventure was put into verse by Kipling.

Them that takes cakes Which the Parsee-man bakesMakes dreadful mistakes. FPM, PJG

43 • How the Rhinocerous got his Skin R. Kipling, Just So Stories for Little Children, illustrated by the author • London, 1955 edition

44 • The Parsee Pestonjee Bomanjee sitting in his palm tree R. Kipling, Just So Stories for Little Children, illustrated by the author • London, 1955 edition

This opening shows the Parsi sitting down to enjoy his cake, with the rhinocerous approaching.

In a note opposite his portrait Kipling confirms: ‘This is the Parsee Pestonjee Bomonjee sitting in his palm tree…. wearing a new more-than-Oriental-Splendour hat of the sort that Parsees wear… ’. 48 Rudyard Kipling thus immortalised Pestonjee Bomanjee in the world of English literature and the genre of nonsense verse. Three allusions are worth noting; first, the suggestion of ‘a new style of hat’ is perhaps a reference to the stiff shiny paghri worn by the Parsis on ceremonial occasions. Secondly, the Parsi climbing a palm tree with a knife in his hand may refer to toddy tapping, which the Parsis were well known for. Thirdly, Kipling’s rhyme alludes to the penalty one has to pay for violating Parsi food laws. Here he may be referring to the consecrated religious food of the Parsis. FPM

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45 • Pestonjee Bomanjee (1851–1938) Artist: Ardeshir Pestonji • 1911 Collection: Homi Ranina

This small portrait of Pestonjee Bomanjee (1851-1938) by Ardeshir Pestonji, which is nothing like Rudyard’s fantastical drawings of him, depicts the artist precariously balanced, with his foot raised on a stool, surrounded by canvases, and intensely mixing paints on a wooden palette. 49

Pestonjee Bomanjee’s career changed mid-stream when Lockwood left Bombay in 1875 to become the principal of the Mayo School of Art in Lahore. 50 His departure forced Bomanjee to take up painting under John Griffiths who taught him the rigours of European portrait painting and the techniques of using oil paints to create the subtle effects of light and shade.

Bomanjee was among the first group of Indian artists trained in the school by European teachers. His portraits in oil conformed to the European techniques of oil painting and represented the school of modern European realism that resonated with the new found interest Indians had in European art forms. FPM

Zoroastrian culture celebrates the bounty and beauty of creation. Embroidery is a vital part of this love of life, reflecting Zoroastrian women’s innate creativity.

Complex roots and routes lie behind ‘Parsi embroidery’. This tradition began in Iran; its motifs travelled through the Silk Route into China and then came back with Chinese, Indian and European influences to a small group of its originators, now called the Parsi Zoroastrians of India.

In Iran, the traditional costume was loose trousers and a long tunic, which reached the knees. The head traditionally was covered with a shawl and the entire costume embroidered with simple motifs derived from nature. Almost a thousand years after fleeing Iran, Parsi women’s wardrobes contained these items, now called ijars and jhablas, which were worn under the Gujarati sari instead of petticoats.

The China connection with Persia was the result of an overland trade link; this would change much later into a sea trade link with Indian Parsis. The Chinese had a long tradition of embroidery and silk textiles, exporting their embroidery to Europe as early as the 13th century. From 1756, for almost 200 years, Parsi traders prospered, trading at Canton, Macau, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Legend has it that a Parsi trader in Canton, watching the embroidery of a rich silk requested the craftsmen to embroider six yards of silk as a sari for his wife in India. These first pieces, embroidered on heavy satin, have no borders or pallavs and seem like yardage. They often carried Taoist and Buddhist symbols of protection such as the Divine Fungus because embroidery in China was a sacred art. To facilitate the wearer and to customize this cloth into a sari, the top was left unembroidered, as was one edge, to make it easier to tuck in at the waist. Parsi women, following Indian patterns began designing borders (kors) to match the inner embroidery, then frontage (pallav) to highlight the design. Chinese yardage had developed into a sari. Embroidered yardage

PARSI TEXTILES AND EMBROIDERY

was covered on all four sides as if bordered within a frame. This yardage, called gala in Gujarati, gave its name to the gara.

The colours favoured in the Persian tradition were imperial purple and other rich shades. As Indian influence developed, the auspicious vermillion became a favourite. Parsis wear white, symbolizing purity, at their weddings, but a tradition of using red developed, particularly for engagement saris. Intercultural exchanges continued in the motifs. The Indian Ambi, Persian Cypress and Chinese baskets combined to create powerful motifs. Parsi women preferred white and cream rather than typical Chinese multicoloured embroidery, because it matched the white lace sudrehs every woman wore. The influence of Imperial Europe became evident through scallops, bows and ribbons, thus bringing together four cultures in the Parsi sari.

As the trade for Parsi saris from China grew in volume, Chinese vendors began regularly visiting Parsi households in Gujarat. As a close relationship developed with their clients, they would leave their merchandise on a particular veranda. While waiting for the cool of the evening they would take out their embroidery rings and start work observed by Parsi women who watched their embroidery with interest, assimilating their techniques and stitches into their own work. In this way, Chinese embroidery became part of Parsi craft.

Dating this craft is difficult. The Victoria and Albert Museum archives contain a collection of Parsi embroidery which gives us some specific dates. The Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851 provided an impetus to collect textiles from all parts of the Empire.

The earliest dates available on record for Parsi embroidery are 1852, while a large archive was acquired in 1883. Several of the Parsi jhablas, ijars and borders clearly state ‘Parsi women’s embroidery’ and do not have typical Chinese motifs.

As times changed, Parsi embroidery became less popular, giving way to light chiffon saris which could not take heavy embroidery. Its recent revival is a way of reaffirming identity and connecting the community to its roots. SC

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46 • Jabhla China • late 19th century • dyed silk Rayomand Maneckshaw

47 • Cheena Cheeni gara China • late 19th century • leno-dent silk Private collection

The jhabla is a smock like blouse made from a single piece of cloth. The neckline is gathered with a ribbon and the jhabla falls just above the knees. This jhabla is embellished on the hem, sleeves and the neck. The neckline is finished with a stylized bat hanging upside down, to symbolize good fortune and happiness. Closely set flowering vines, weeping willows, cranes and butterflies create the setting of a garden and carefully placed Chinese men and women holding Taoist symbols of a flywhisk, gourd and fan wish the wearer of the jhabla protection, blessings goodness and long life. During the China trade it became fashionable for children to wear densely embroidered jhablas with Chinese embroidery. Some had jari (gold and silver wire) work on them. FPM

This is a fine example of a Cheena Cheeni gara - so termed in Gujarati because of the presence of Chinese men and women. The ground depicts a social scene set in a garden with repeat registers running the length of the sari and embroidered with flowering plants, pavilions and Chinese figures holding Taoist symbols. Significant in Chinese mythology is the motif of a bridge with a dog crossing over it which is carefully embroiderd together with zig-zag fences interspersed with the sacred fungus. The piece is embellished by a densely embroidered border in satin stitch. FPM

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48 • Gara for festive occasions India • 20th century • embroidered silk Private collection

Chrysanthemums, daises and roses representing immortality and embroidered in satin stitch cover the ground of the gara. Flying birds and flowering vines add a sense of motion to an otherwise static design. The white satin stich embroidery in silk thread is offset against the red background colour. Saris such as this are worn on festive occasions by Parsi women. FPM

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49 • Gara embroidered with animals China • 20th century • dyed silk Rayomand Maneckshaw

This unusual gara depicting, elephants, Bactrian camels, lions, leopards, a giraffe, an elk and a kangaroo reflects the interest created by naturalists who, as part of a colonial exploration of the flora and fauna of countries such as China, Africa and India, gave rise to a display of curiosities such as seen here. British naturalists were prominent during the Qing dynasty (1839-1911) a period when the Parsi traders were also in China. Several Chinese artists were trained by naturalists in the 19th century, to draw and paint the flowers and animals recorded by them. Frequently the same artists drew the pattern designs for the embroidery on textiles and porcelain. FPM

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50 • Yazdi Cloth Yazd, Iran • late 19th century Collection: Firoza Punthakey Mistree

51 • Shalvar Yazd, Iran • late 19th century Collection: Firoza Punthakey Mistree

In nineteenth-century Iran there were a number of regulations governing the everyday lives of Zoroastrians. These were intended to marginalize and distinguish them from the majority Muslim population and included strict dress codes. Zoroastrian men were obliged to wear garments of yellow ochre or unbleached cloth. In Yazd and Kerman Zoroastrians were not permitted to buy cloth by the yard. Shopkeepers would collect the strips of leftover fabric and leave them in bins outside their shops for Zoroastrians to buy. These were laboriously stitched together to make the shalvar and kamiz and were often embroidered with a variety of designs, including flowers, fish and geometric patterns 51 (Catalogue: 160-1). FPM

This traditional Yazdi bridal shalvar features a pink, blue, and maroon striped trouser with a woven black and cream cotton band. It is made of 28 multi coloured strips of silk, cotton and calico cloth stitched together to form the width of each leg of the trouser. A thick, woven cotton band, which is hidden beneath the skirt of the kamiz is gathered at the waist by a ribbon allowing the folds to gather at the ankle. FPM

52 • Kamiz Yazd, Iran • late 19th century Collection: Firoza Punthakey Mistree

53 • Large green makhnun Yazd, Iran • 20th century • green silk Collection: Firoza Punthakey Mistree

This kamiz was woven and stitched in Yazd for a Zoroastrian bride. The skirt is formed with alternate strips of red tie dye and green silk. The bodice of the kamiz which remains hidden under the makhnun (head scarf) is made of calico cloth. The purple sleeves are of home dyed silk and edged with an embroidered band. FPM

A makhnun is a large head and body scarf, which frames the face, and falls loosely over the shoulders to the waist. It was customary for women to wear several layers of scarves over the makhnun; often as many as seven layers were worn one over the other. FPM

54 • Purple silk laachak bordered with a green brocade band Iran • 20th century • stitched purple silk Collection: Firoza Punthakey Mistree

A laachak is a small bordered bonnet tied with ribbons under the chin. The laachak is worn under the makhnun. FPM

IRANIAN ZOROASTRIAN COSTUME

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In Canton, foreign traders had to deal with a number of Chinese officials appointed by the Emperor to facilitate trade between China and the rest of the world. The movement of foreigners was restricted by law and, during the trading season, they were allowed to live in the thirteen factories, or trading houses, on the shores of the Pearl river in an area called the ‘Foreign Concession’. The factories were owned by rich Chinese merchants called Co-Hongs and each factory flew the flag of European country to which it belonged.

By 1760, an increasing number of ships belonging to the East India Company began to arrive in Canton. Not wishing to deal with foreign traders, and averse to western culture, the Celestial Court appointed Chinese merchant houses known as Hongs to deal with the foreigners. The Co-Hongs along with the Viceroy, who dealt with all civil matters, and the Hoppo, who was the superintendent of Maritime Customs, worked together to ensure that the behaviour of the traders was not in violation of Chinese law and above all that the Imperial Court received custom duties and the taxes due to it. Custom duties collected by the Hoppo were sent directly to the Emperor.

Smuggling was endemic and the Hoppo and his men had to keep a constant watch over the small Chinese junks that sailed in and out of the Pearl River - many without paying duty on the goods they carried. The

THE CHINA TRADE: PORCELAIN, FURNITURE AND THE ROLE OF THE HOPPO

55 • Two matching porcelain jars on pedestals China • 9th century Collection: Mehernosh Heeramaneck

Canton was an important port through which Chinese porcelain was exported. The blue and white Canton-ware was manufactured in the Provence of Ching-Te Chen and sent to Canton for Chinese artists to design and decorate in vibrant shades of blue. Canton-ware with Chinese scenes, flowers and birds, delighted much of Europe and India in the nineteenth century. Every home had a piece of porcelain, some with the finesse and fragility of an eggshell, and so named eggshell porcelain. Others prepared at cruder kilns were of varying thickness and referred to as Canton pattern porcelain. It was readily available in the many shops that dotted the bye lanes of the factory area in Canton.

Porcelain jars when exported from China were protected by a tightly wound rope which covered the surface of the jar thus protecting it from damage during long sea voyages. When porcelain jars or plates broke during the voyage, the fragmented pieces were laid as china mosaics on the floor of homes in Bombay. Porcelain jars were prized by the Parsis, who liked to display several pieces of delicate porcelain in their homes. FPM

Viceroy, Hoppo and Co-Hongs worked together ensuring that all dues were paid to the Imperial Court. This arrangement was known as the ‘Canton system’, which lasted from 1700 to 1842 and was brought to an end by the First Opium War. After the trading season, all foreign traders had to return home or stay on the island of Macao. Interestingly no women were allowed to live in Canton. 52 FPM

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Indian homes in the 15th century were sparsely furnished. Europeans as colonists created a desire amongst Indians to adopt elevated, western-style furniture. ‘Bombay mahogany’ refers to elaborately carved black wood furniture. The dense carvings incorporated a mixture of Indian and Chinese designs - the latter made popular by the Portuguese who were among the first to trade with China. The legs of such pieces were often finished in dragon, griffin or lion motifs while elaborate floral patterns decorated the rest of the piece. FPM

INDO PORTUGUESE CARVED FURNITURE

56 • Matching chairs Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

57 • Sofa Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

58 • Ottoman Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

59 • Table with griffin legs Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

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60 • Matching chairs Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

62 • Consol Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

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61 • Occasional table Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

Until the advent of the East India Company artists in India were dependent upon court patronage for their living. Supported by the Mughal Emperors and the Maharajas of various states, portrait painting was a popular form of art portraying the nobility, court scenes and festivals. When the East India Company extended their political control over large parts of India, they encouraged English and European artists to visit the country - many of whom were on leave from the Company - to map the ethnographic images, flora and fauna, and the historical landscape. Artists such as the uncle and nephew team of Thomas and William Daniel, William Hodges, Tilly Kettle, the first portraitist in India, Johann Zoffany and August Schoefft were some of the artists who came to India to paint the ‘exotic’ scenes. These artists were trained in European art schools and were familiar with the techniques of vanishing perspective and the play of light and shade. Such techniques were gradually introduced to court artists in India, many of whom trained under them.

In 1854 the East India Company began to establish art schools in India and by 1867 the British Government had set up 22 schools of art with the idea of employing the talents of local artists.

THE SIR JJ SCHOOL OF ART AND PARSI ARTISTS

In Bombay the leading China merchant, Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, donated Rs 100, 000 to start a school of art, which became the foundation of the genre known as the Bombay School of Art.

Among the first to study sculpture and modelling at the school was Pestonjee Bomanjee, who trained under John Lockwood Kipling and later under John Griffiths. His work won admiration at home and abroad. Some of the well-known Parsi artists who trained at the school were M.F Pithawalla, J Lalkaka, Hormasji Deboo, Rustom Siodia and Erach Bhiwandiwalla. With the advent of photography it became possible to carry photographs and have portraits painted in places as far away as China or England.

The Parsi traders who were exposed in Canton to the European way of life recognised the importance of portraits as a way of asserting their position and influence in the community. The ensuing demand for portraits resulted in over seven hundred portraits of Parsi notables, both men and women, which can be viewed in public institutions, private residences and with collectors. FPM

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63 • Chest with sunburst design Bombay • late 19th century Private collection

64 • Lady with blue ribbon Artist unknown • late 20th century • oil on canvas • 81 x 69 cm Collection: Feroza and Rico Rustamjee

Jer Pestonjee Hormusji Jamsetjee was the granddaughter of the Parsi financier H.J Rustomji who was a close friend of Jinnah. This exquisite portrait was painted on her 21st Birthday, 14th May 1921. The portrait is done in the style of Academic Realism, introduced by British artists and learned by Indian artists such as Pestonjee Bomanjee, A.X. Trinidade and H. Majumdar. FPM

65 • Bapuji Kharshedji Vatcha Gandhy Artist: Rustom Siodia • Bombay • 1910 • oil on canvas • 100.3 x 87 cm Collection: Hameed Haroon

Bapuji Vatcha Gandhi's family were China traders. His ancestor, Modi Hirji Vatcha Gandhi, established the first Tower of Silence in Bombay in 1672. The family bought the land on Malabar Hill, where this early Tower of Silence is located, and donated it to the community. It is perhaps the oldest structure still standing in Bombay although it is rarely used. Bapuji’s family also founded a Fire Temple, which carries their name. The Parsi artist, Rustom Siodia, trained at the Sir J.J. School of Art. FPM

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67 • Parsi couple holding hands Artist unknown • late 19th century • oil on canvas • 88.9 x 76.8 cm Collection: Hameed Haroon

This portrait was perhaps painted to commemorate an occasion such as a marriage or wedding anniversary. It is likely to have been done from a photograph. FPM

66 • Clock with wood casing Carved wood • 91 x 55 cm Bombay Parsi Punchayet

A wall clock is an important feature of a Parsi Fire Temple. Priests serving the temple are required to perform rituals at precise times of the day especially when they serve the sacred fire. Curiously, these clocks are adjusted not according to Indian Standard time but to Mumbai Standard time in order for the priests to be exact about the timing of the ritual. The difference in time is 40 minutes and so if it is 12.40 pm Indian Standard time the clocks in the Fire temples show the time to be 12 noon. FPM

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68 • Sakerbai Ardeshir Bolton Artist unknown • Bombay, India • mid-18th century • oil on canvas • 114 x 76 cm F.D. Alpaiwalla Museum, Bombay Parsi Punchayet, bequest of the late

Ernavaz Dubash.

Sakerbai Ardeshir Bolton’s family owned the Bolton Rolling Steel Mills. She is depicted in a frontal pose favoured by early Indian and Chinese artists of the 19th century. Attired in traditional dress she is shown wearing a mathabana, a small muslin scarf under the part of the sari that covers her head. The sacred Zoroastrian under-shirt, sudreh can be seen to her right draped below her waist. The deep red Victorian day bed contrasts vividly with the colours of her sari and blouse. No European influence is apparent in her style of dress. FPM

69 • Goolbai Dhunjishaw Bolton Photograph in a Victorian moulded scroll frame • Bombay • early 20th century • 60 x 52 cm F.D. Alpaiwalla Museum, Bombay Parsi Punchayet, bequest of the late

Ernavaz Dubash

A studio portrait of a well to do Parsi lady from Bombay wearing a traditional Parsi sari with a border and a European style puff sleeved blouse. Photographic portraits became very fashionable in the early 20th century and several Parsi-owned photographic studios were set up in Bombay from the mid-19th century onwards. FPM

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70 • Seth Sorabji Behramji Bhabha Artist: MF Pithawalla (1927), restored by D.N Daruwalla (1992) • Bombay • oil on canvas • 147 x 116 cm Bombay Parsi Punchayet

71 • Khanbahadur Hormasjee Kharshedji Bhabha (1873 – 1940) Artist: Probably MF Pithawalla (artist’s name painted over by restorer) • 20th century • Bombay • oil on canvas • 161 x 125 cm Bombay Parsi Punchayet

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72 • Spitaman Zarathustra Artist: MF Pithawalla • Bombay • 1920’s • oil on canvas • 114 x 94 cm Bombay Parsi Punchayet

An artist's rendition of the Iranian Prophet Spitaman Zarathushtra. M. F. Pithawalla's portraits of Zarathushtra were sought after and several Parsi Fire Temples and institutions have a portrait of the Prophet painted by him. FPM

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73 • Cooverjee Hormasji Bhabha (d.13th January 1877) Artist unknown • Bombay • early 20th century • oil on canvas • 145 x 116 cmm Bombay Parsi Punchayet

Cooverjee Bhabha was married to Navajbai. Little is known of him except that he was a prominent cotton trader with business interests in Hong Kong and China. He invested in property in the residential Khetwadi district and the commercial Bazargate Street of Bombay. He founded Bhabha Sanitorium in Bandra, as a rest and recuperation centre for Parsis suffering from ill health. Parsis could stay at the sanitorium for a few weeks to enjoy the fresh sea air as the sanitorium was perched on a hill overlooking the sea. FPM

74 • Kharshedji Behramjee Bhabha Artist unknown • Bombay • early 20th century • oil on canvas • 106 x 90 cm Bombay Parsi Punchayet

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75 • Marble bust of Meherbai Dorabji Tata C.B.E. Mumbai, Maharashtra • 1905 • Marble • 91.7 x 41.3 cm CSMVS, Mumbai, 33.1028. Provenance F. Jerace

77 • Statue of Parsi girl in ivory Mumbai, Maharashtra • late 19th century • Ivory 17.2 cm CSMVS, Mumbai 31.92. Gift of Smt. Naoroji Lam

The 18th–19th century Parsis in Bombay started adapting the life-style of the British. As a corollary it became fashionable to get oneself portrayed and a number of Parsi portraits of this period are available today.

This portrait of a Parsi girl gives a glimpse of the attire of Parsi children of that age who would

A pioneer of industry, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata has been called ‘the one-man planning commission of India’. Eldest son of Nusserwanji Ratan Tata, he recognized the new, fast-changing period of enterprise and industrialization in India, establishing and financing several large textile mills in Bombay. He also founded a hydroelectric power station and put India on the map by envisaging a steel-manufacturing complex later established by his son Dorab Tata. FPM

generally wear an ijar, jhabla, coat and a topi. The topi shows an indication of jari embroidery which was promoted by the Parsis along with the embroidery of the garas, sari borders and coats. Her long hair is arranged in a beautiful plait. She is stylishly supporting her arm on a decorative stand. The details of her costume with their intricate decoration as well as her long plait of hair are carved with the utmost care. The portrait could be of a young girl from one of the well-known Parsi families of Mumbai. CSMVS

76 • Bust of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (1839-1904) Mumbai, Maharashtra Tata Services Limited

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1 See G. Azarpay, ed., Sogdian painting: the pictorial epic in oriental art (Berkeley – Los Angeles – London, 1981); B. Marshak, Legends, tales, and fables in the art of Sogdiana (New York, 2002).

2 M. Shenkar, ‘The epic of Farāmarz in the Panjikent paintings’, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 24 (2010 [2014]): 67-84.

3 Ibid.

5 See D. Stronach, ‘Some Possible Sources for the Iconography of the Sasanian Senmurv in Elite Rhytons of Achaemenid and Parthian Date,’ in Genesis Forest: Collected Articles in Memory of Felix Ter-Martirosov (Yerevan, 2015): 137-147.

6 Ibid. Also M. Compareti, ‘Ancient Iranian Decorative Textiles: New Evidence from Archaeological Investigations and Private Collections.’ The Silk Road 13 (2015): 36-45; 38.

7 Compareti disputes the identification of this composite animal as the senmurv of Iranian mythology, suggesting that it is, rather, a representation of the Iranian concept of the farr, the divine “glory;” ibid.

8 Bd. 14. 24, ViZ 9.23.

9 See S. Cristoforetti and G. Scarcia, ‘Talking about Sīmurġ and Tāq-i Bustān with Boris I. Marshak,’ in P. Lurje and A. Torgoev, eds, Sogdians, Their Precursors, Contemporaries and Heirs (Saint Petersburg, 2013): 339–52.

10 Zandaniji textiles were previously thought to be Sogdian on account of an Arabic inscription on one of them being wrongly identified as Sogdian. See N. Sims-Williams and G. Khan, ‘Zandanījī misidentified’, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 22 (2008 [2012]): 207-13.

11 P. O. Harper, K. C. Lefferts & O. W. Muscarella, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 25.3 (November, 1966): 137.

12 F.M. Kotwal & J.W. Boyd, The Yasna: a high Zoroastrian liturgy (Paris, 1991): 93.

13 W. Malandra, An Introduction to Ancient Iranian Religion: readings from the Avesta and Achaemenid inscriptions (Minneapolis,1983): 127.

14 M. Boyce, Zoroastrians, their Religious Beliefs and Practices (London, 1979): 85.

15 D. Davis (translator), The Shahnameh: the Persian book of kings, by Abolqasem Ferdowsi (New York, 2007): 790.

16 Ibid: 848.

Endnotes

17 J. Curtis and N. Tallis (eds.), Forgotten Empire. The World of Ancient Persia (London, 2005): 163-5.

18 P.O. Harper, ‘Sasanian Silver: Internal Developments and Foreign Influences,’ in F. Baratte ed., Argenterie Romaine et Byzantine (Paris 1988): 153-62.

19 B.I. Marshak, ‘The Decoration of some Late Sasanian Silver Vessels and its Subject Matter,’ in V.S. Curtis, R. Hillenbrand, J.M. Rodgers, eds., The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Persia (London, 1998): 84-92.

20 M. Rahbar, ‘Découvert de monument d’époque sassanide à Bandian, Dargaz (Nord Khorasan)’, Studia Iranica 27 (1998): 213-250.

21 V. Lukonin and K. Trever, Sasnidskoe serebro (Moscow, 1987): 87, 115, 127; plates 73–78.

22 Ibid: 44, 49–51, 107, 121, 123; pls 1–5; V. Livshitz and V. Lukonin, ‘Srednepersidskie i sogdijskie nadpisi na serebryanykh sosydakh’, Vestnik drevnej istorii 3 (1964): 155–76.

23 V. Lukonin and K. Trever, Sasnidskoe serebro (Moscow, 1987): 107.

24 P.O. Harper and P. Meyers, Silver Vessels of the Sasanian Period. Royal Imagery (New York, 1981): 53, n. 71; 55 fig. 19, n. 81.

25 A.S. Melikian-Chirvani, ‘The Iranian Wine Horn from Pre-Achaemenid Antiquity to the Safavid Age’, Bulletin of the Asia Institute 10 (1996): 85-139.

26 P.O. Harper, ‘Sources of Certain Female Representations in Sasanian Art’, in La Persia nel Medioevo, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Roma 1971): 503-15.

27 K. Weitzmann, ed., Age of Spirituality (New York, 1979): 171, Catalogue 150; 173, Catalogue 152, 276, Catalogue 252.

28 Ibid: 151-52, Catalogue 130.

29 M. Boyce, ed. and trans., Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism (Manchester, 1984): 10-11.

30 V. Lukonin and K. Trever, Sasnidskoe serebro (Moscow, 1987): 75–76, 110, 121, 126; plates 26–27; V Livshitz and V. Lukonin, ‘Srednepersidskie i sogdijskie nadpisi na serebryanykh sosydakh’, Vestnik drevnej istorii 3 (1964): 155–76.

31 R. Levy, The Epic of the Kings (London, 1967): 319.

32 Ibid: 321.

33 U. Sims-Williams, ‘Zoroastrian Manuscripts in the British Library, London’ in A. Cantera, ed., The Transmission of the Avesta (Wiesbaden, 2012): 173-94.

34 B. Schmitz and N. Akhtar, ‘Important illustrated manuscripts in the National Museum, Delhi’, in B. Schmitz, ed., Painting in Delhi and the Regional Courts in the 18th and 19th Centuries, (Delhi, 2002): 56-73.

35 E. Yarshater “Afrāsīāb”, in Encyclopaædia Iranica (www.iranicaonline org/articles/afrasiab-turanian-king).

36 V. Sarkhosh Curtis, Persian Myths (London 1993, 2002): 48.

37 H. Blochmann’s translation of extracts from Bada’uni’s Muntakhab al-tavarikh, in his translation of Abu’l-Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari, vo1 1, bk. 1 (Calcutta, 1873): 184.

38 J.J. Modi, The Parsees at the Court of Akbar and Dastur Meherjee Rana (Bombay, 1903): 95-163.

39 D.J. Sheffield, ‘Primary Sources: New Persian’, in M. Stausberg and Y. Vevaina, eds. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Zoroastrianism (Hoboken, 2015): 532.

40 F.M. Kotwal, ‘A Brief History Of The Parsi Priesthood’, in S, Shaked and A. Netzer.Jerusalem, eds., Irano-Judaica II, Studies Relating to Jewish Contacts with Persian Culture Throughout the Ages (Jerusalem, 1990): 221-4.

41 See D.J. Sheffield, ‘The language of heaven in Safavid Iran: Speech and cosmology in the thought of Āzar Kayvān and his followers,’ in A. Korangy and D. Sheffield, eds., No tapping around philology: A Festschrift in honor of Wheeler McIntosh Thackston Jr.’s 70th birthday (Wiesbaden, 2014): 161-83.

42 I thank Dan Sheffield for this information and also for his help in identifying the Avestan texts mentioned here.

43 W.E. Gladstone Solomon, ‘Lockwood Kipling and the Bombay School of Art’, The Kipling Journal 3 (October 1927): 9-12. The plaque states:

Rudyard Kipling, Son of Lockwood Kipling, First principal of The Bombay School of Art Was born here (30-12-1865)

44 H. Ricketts, Rudyard Kipling A Life (New York, 2000): 6. Lockwood’s visit to the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 shaped his desire to be an artist and a craftsman. He received intensive training in Gothic as well as Italian Ornamentation art.

45 The carvings of the two semi-circular marble friezes that decorated the newly built Crawford Market and the fountain near the entrance were designs executed by Pestonjee Bomanjee and other students studying sculpture under Lockwood.

46 Ricketts, Ibid: 8, 10-14, and R. Lancelyn Green, Kipling and the Children (London, 1965): 24-25.

47 Notes on the text ‘How the Rhinoceros got his Skin’, written by Lisa Lewis (2014) for the Oxford World’s Classics. The story was first published in St Nicholas Magazine in February, 1898 and illustrated by Oliver Herford. It was introduced as ‘Now this is the last tale and it tells how the Rhinoceros got his wrinkly skin’ (http://www.kiplingsociety co.uk/rg_rhino_notes.htm, accessed 5-12-2015).

48 R. Kipling, Just So Stories for Little Children, illustrated by the author (London, 1955 edition): 34.

49 F. Punthakey Mistree with P. Godrej, ‘The Lure of China and the Art of Parsi Portraiture in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries’ in S. Stewart, ed., The Everlasting Flame Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination (London, 2013): 65.

50 In Lahore, Rudyard Kipling was inspired to write the book Kim and several others.

51 P. Godrej and F. Punthakey Mistree, eds., A Zoroastrian Tapestry: art, religion and culture (Mumbai, 2002): 564-7.

52 Across Oceans and Flowing Silks, From Canton to Bombay 18th to 20th Centuries and No Parsi is an Island (Mumbai, 2013): 184.

100 101

British Library, London. Cat 2, 31, 37, 41, 42British Museum, London. Cat 16, 17a, 17b, 35, 36, 39, 40Bombay Parsi Panchayat. Cat 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai. Cat 75, 76FD Alpaiwala Museum, Bombay Parsi Punchayet . Cat 67, 68Feroza & Rico Rustomjee. Cat 64Firoza Punthakey Mistree. Cat 50, 51, 52, 53, 54Hameed Haroon. Cat 65, 66Homi Ranina. Cat 45National Museum, New Delhi. Cat 32, 33, 34National Museum of Iran, Tehran. Cat 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30North East History Foundation, Korea. Cat 4Private Collection. Cat 56, 57Private Collection. Cat 55Private Collection. Cat 47, 48Private Collection. Cat 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63Rayomand Manekshaw. Cat 46, 49Tata Services Ltd. Cat.77The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Cat 1, 3, 5, 18,19, 20, 25Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Cat 12, 13, 14, 15

Photo CreditsPavel Lurje. Cat 6, 8, 9, 10Kaiyan Mistree. Cat 52, 53Harshad Panchal. Cat 46, 49Ursula Sims-Williams. Cat 11Sarah Stewart. Cat 43, 44

British MuseumVesta Sarkhosh Curtis (VSC)

British LibraryUrsula Sims – Williams (US-W)

Claremont UniversityJenny Rose

Collège de France Frantz Grenet (FG)

National Museum, DelhiKhatibur Rahman (KR)

Lenders to the Exhibition

Contributors to the catalogueNational Museum of Iran, TehranZahra Akbari (ZA)Shahrokh Razmjou (SR)

SOASJahan Foster (JF)Almut Hintze (AF)Sarah Stewart (SS)Nicholas Sims-Williams (NS-W)

The State Hermitage MuseumMariam Dandamaeva (MD)Larisa Kulakova (LYK)Pavel Lurje (PL)

Unesco ParzorShernaz Cama (SC)

Zoroastrian Studies, MumbaiFiroza Punthakey Mistree (FPM)

Independent ScholarPheroza J. GodrejPrudence Harper

102

Supplement to the Catalogue The Everlasting Flame, Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination

published by I.B. Tauris in Association with SOAS, University of London(Copyright sign) 2013 SOAS, University of London

National MuseumNew Delhi