An illustrated and illuminated leaf from a copy of Firdausi's Shahnameh: Ardashir ordering the execution of Ardavan, signed by Kamal, India, Mughal, 17th century

gouache heightened with gold on paper, 15 lines of text in fine nasta'liq script in black ink within 4 columns, outer margin of illustrated side overlaid with a gold-decorated margin from an early 17th-century Mughal manuscript of the Farhangi-i-Jahangiri, the name 'Kamal' and the number '34' (or '304') discernable beneath, reverse with 25 lines of text

Christie's, 23 April 1981, Lot 67
Sotheby's London, 16 October 1996, Lot 80 

In very good overall condition, two very small holes to text, a few minor stains, colours and gold bright, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present leaf originates from an early Mughal manuscript of the Shahnameh of which six leaves from the Brunet Collection were sold in these rooms 13 July, 1971, lots 138-140 and 7 December, 1971, lots 54-56. The manuscript illustrations bear the names of each respective artist neatly written in a contemporary hand in the outer margin and accompanied by the number of the illustration as originally placed in the manuscript. A feature of the illustrations is the participation of Mughal-trained artists alongside others who were painting in a more Persian style. One of the Brunet leaves is now in the Keir Collection (B.W.Robinson, Islamic Painting and the Arts of the Book, London, 1976, no.III.342, where it is catalogued as early seventeenth-century Bukhara with supporting discussion). Kamal, son of Khem, was an artist of the late Akbar period who worked on the illustrations of manuscripts for the library of Akbar’s first minister, ‘Abd al-Rahim Khan-i Khanan, raising the possibility that this manuscript was also made for him. For a list of Kamal’s works see S.P.Verma, Mughal Painters and their Work, Dehli, 1994, pp.197-8.

Other artists who illustrated this Shahnameh were Dawud, Mirza Ghulam, Dadar Kashmiri, Muhammad Pandat and Haidar Kashmiri.