TALHAND DIES ON THE BACK OF AN ELEPHANT Possibly Herat, modern-day Afghanistan, late 16th century Opaque pigments and black ink on paper, the vertical composition on an illustrated loose folio from the Shahnama of Firdowsi, the reverse with 25 lines of black nasta'liq arranged in four columns of poetry, the heading in red naskh, the front illuminated in opaque pigments and gold with the Indian prince dying in battle against his brother Gav, surrounded by warriors in a rocky landscape, the folio 29.5cm x 20cm, the text panel 23cm x 12.8cm. A legendary source of the game of chess is this myth of brothers Gav and Talhand's struggle for the throne.