Ferdowsi's Shahnameh — the Book of Kings — is the epic that carried Persian mythology, and much of the Persian language itself, across a thousand years. This collection sets lines associated with him into contemporary canvas compositions, most often alongside imagery of Persepolis, the Iranian landscape, or the outline of the country.
Ferdowsi and the Shahnameh
Abul-Qasem Ferdowsi (c. 940–1020) worked on the Shahnameh for roughly three decades, completing a poem of around fifty thousand couplets that runs from the mythical first kings through to the Arab conquest. Its significance is linguistic as much as literary: it was written in Persian at a point when Arabic dominated written culture, and it is credited with helping the language survive in literary use.
The verse on these pieces
The line that appears most often here is چو ایران نباشد تن من مباد — roughly, “if Iran does not exist, let my body not exist”. It is the verse most widely associated with Ferdowsi in everyday Iranian usage, and it appears across several of these works in different treatments: gold on dark grounds, relief-textured heritage compositions, and versions built around the map of the country.
Where these work
Because the subject matter is architectural and historical rather than lyrical, these pieces read as substantial rather than decorative. The landscape and panoramic formats suit a wide wall — above a sideboard or along a hallway. Every piece is printed to order, gallery-wrapped over a wooden frame, and arrives ready to hang.
Questions
What is the Shahnameh?A Persian epic poem completed around 1010 CE, covering the mythical and historical kings of Iran up to the seventh century.
Where is Ferdowsi buried?In Tus, near Mashhad, where his mausoleum is a well-known site of pilgrimage for readers of Persian literature.
Is the Persian script accurate?Yes. The verses are reproduced in correct Persian, not as decorative approximation.
