The Epic of Kings: Stories Retold from Firdusi
Helen Zimmern, The Epic of Kings: Stories Retold from Firdusi (also titled "Shahnama" in Urdu), London: T Fisher Unwin, 1882. First edition
xlvii + 339 pp. with two black and white engravings by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (Dutch, 1836 -1912), with tissue guards, and a “prefatory poem” by Edmund W. Gosse; cloth over beveled boards with elaborate decoration in blue, and gilt; top edge gilt. Inscription reads “Henry Ingres 24.1.1844”
13.3 x 10.8 x 1.5 in (34 x 27.5 x 4 cm)
Edmund Gosse, the artist's Alma-Tadema's brother-in-law, supplied a poem for the preface. The 2 prints accompany the following lines:
And seeing a water-bird fly upward, he took his bow and shot it through the heart, and it fell among the rose-gatherers - for the frontispiece
And they gazed upon each other and knew that they excelled in beauty; and the hours slipped by in sweet talk while love was fanned in their hearts - for the print on page 49.
A classic in Persian folklore.
The Epic of Kings (The Shahnama) is an epic poem by the Persian poet Firdausi, written between 966 and 1010 AD. Telling the past of the Persian empire, using a mix of the mythical and historical, it is regarded as a literary masterpiece. Not only important to the Persian culture, but it is also important to modern day followers of the Zoroastrianism religion. It is said that the poem was Firdausi's efforts to preserve the memory of Persia's golden days, following the fall of the Sassanid empire. The poem contains, among others, mentions of the romance of Zal and Rudaba, Alexander the Great, the wars with Afrasiyab, and the romance of Bijan and Manijeh.
Born in Dronrijp in the Netherlands, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, OM, RA was a Dutch-born painter who lived and worked in England from 1870 until the end of his life. Alma-Tadema received his training at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, and eventually became famous for his depictions of classical subjects highlighting the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire. Although his draftsmanship and figurative depictions were celebrated during his lifetime, his works were largely forgotten following his death, until the 1960s when they resurfaced due to their significance in the study of nineteenth-century English art.
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