'ALEXANDER VISITS THE KAABA, SHIRAZ, 16TH CENTURY

Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper Called ‘Eskandar in the Shahnameh’, is an important chapter in the epic. On his way from India to North Africa he made a stop in Mecca, which may be seen as a rite of passage in his long journey towards self-discovery. Eskandar paid his respects to the Kaaba, the House of Abraham, which Ferdowsi describes, as ‘the place of worship before any others existed … where God causes you to worship and to remember him.’ Here, Eskandar opens up two arms up to worship and around him the rest of the pilgrims in white ihram garments stand beside him. The Kaaba draped in its black kiswah, with a gold-embroidered curtain and belt, its hem lifted to reveal the white lining – just as it is today during the Hajj. In other versions Eskandar depicted himaself himself as a pilgrim. painting: 27.2 by 18.5 cm. folio: 34.5 by 23.8 cm