The Folio
In this section, I will be considering the way the folio from this variation of a Shahnama presents the speaking tree. In this version, both Sekandar and his comrades are approaching the tree on horses, with Sekandar the only figure completely unobscured in the image while the others are grouped as following him just into the page. The tree is slender and clearly intwined from two separate trunks, with one section sprouting male-seeming heads and the other sprouting female-seeming heads. There are also many animal heads on the tree, from rabbits to wolves, drawn as if they are sprouting in much the same way as the human heads are. The expression on Sekandar’s face in the image seems to be one of curiosity, as he peers at it with one hand outstretched in a considering gesture. The other figures largely look wary, with one exception, who’s face seems to be expressing contentment or pleasure. At the top of this folio lie columns of text in blocked off squares, written in black ink and framed with gold at the borders of the squares.
This object was created as part of a Shahnameh for 'Mongol Ilkhanid rulers of Iran', as described by the Smithsonian. The place that this object has as a gift for a ruler in the medieval era highlights the impact that the story had on ideas of leadership and rule, as it had been seen as a fitting tribute to a leader. Moreover, it also highlights the impact that Alexander the Great - or Sekandar - had on the Eastern mythological tradition more broadly, as seen in the elaborate detail work commissioned in the image and the significance of its commissioner.
To highlight the importance of both the Shahnameh and Alexander himself in the wider culture, this exhibition also includes another page from a separate commission by another ruler: Ebrahim Soltan. Although this image is less ornately detailed than the last, the evident care put into Sekandar in his elaborate armor and the composition of the image, placing the tree and Sekandar against a largely spacious and empty background, highlights the two main figures in the image in a way that emphasises their importance.
The other image featured highlights the importance of Alexander himself as a figure in history, now moving into the French tradition in an enamel of Alexander in a more European armor, mounted atop an elephant and holding a pickaxe majestically. This image of Alexander, clearly more westernized in style yet with similar trappings of importance, mysticism and leadership being highlighted in the piece of art, showcases the place that Alexander has in history as being a figure of legendary leadership and might, interacting with nature in an almost mythical way in his talks with speaking trees and rides on elephants.