Kamran Djam Annual Lecture 2022: What Makes the Great Mongol Shahnama Great?

After a pause due to lockdown, the Centre for Iranian Studies is delighted to invite you to the 2022 Kamran Djam Biennial Lectures at SOAS on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 November 2022.

Our speaker this year is Professor Robert Hillenbrand FBA, University of St. Andrews, who, will give two lectures on The Great Mongol Shahnama, a long-awaited major work on one of the most magnificent illustrated Persian manuscripts of all time, dating to 1330s. Hali Publications Ltd., the UK publishers of this splendid book, have kindly agreed to bring several advance copies of the book for your perusal before its imminent availability in the UK.

The lecture on what makes the Great Mongol Shahnama great will focus first on the contemporary context from which this manuscript sprang, identifying how its painters built on what their predecessors had achieved and on the work of their contemporary colleagues. The lecture will then examine such unprecedented innovations as the development of pictorial space, a hugely expanded range of emotional expression, and an exciting experiments in composition and format.

To put it briefly, much more was happening on the page, and the lecture will try to explain the impact of these dramatic changes of approach.

Recording

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About the speaker

Professor Robert Hillenbrand FBA is one of the leading British art historians who specialises in Persian art and Islamic art in general, with research interests spanning Islamic architecture, book painting, iconography and other arts with a particular focus on Iran and on Umayyad Syria. His more than 220 publications include prize-winning books on both Islamic architecture and on Persian painting.

Registration

This event is free to attend and is open to the public. Click here to register.

This lecture will be followed by a reception at 7.00pm in G3 Suite.

Programme

Chair: Narguess Farzad

Organiser: Centre for Iranian Studies, SOAS

Contact email: smei@soas.ac.uk