Miniature painting depicting Sikander-e-Azam (Alexander the Great) holding the Jaam-e-Jam (The legendary wine cup of jamshed).  Deccan, India circa 1800

Indian miniature painting depicting Alexander the Great holding the cosmic cup. Hyderabad Deccan, India. Circa 1800

Alexander with cosmic cup.
Gouache & pigments with tooled gold on wasli.
Size: 5 inches x 7 inches (12.5cm x 18cm)
Hyderabad, Deccan, India
Circa: 1800

Delicately executed miniature painting depicting Alexander the Great holding the legendary Jam-e-Jamshid.

Jamshid  (Persian: جمشید‎, Jamshīd) (Middle- and New Persian: جم, Jam)  is a mythological figure of Greater Iranian culture and tradition. The Cup of Jamshid (Cup of Jamshed or Jaam-e Jam, in Persian: جام جم) is a cup of divination, which in Persian mythology was long possessed by the rulers of ancient Greater Iran. The cup has also been called Jam-e Jahan nama, Jam-e Jahan Ara, Jam-e Giti nama, and Jam-e Kei-khosrow. The latter refers to Kaei Husravah in the Avesta, and Sushravas in the Vedas.

The cup has been the subject of many Persian poems and stories. Many authors ascribed the success of the Persian Empire to the possession of this artefact. It appears extensively in Persian literature.

The cup ("Jām") was said to be filled with an elixir of immortality . As mentioned by Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda, it was believed that all seven heavens of the universe could be observed by looking into it (از هفت فلک در او مشاهده و معاینه کردی). It was believed to have been discovered in Persepolis in ancient times. The whole world was said to be reflected in it, and divinations within the cup were said to reveal deep truths. Sometimes, especially in popular depictions such as the legends of Alexander the Great, the cup has been visualized as a crystal ball as depicted in this miniature painting.  

A similar painting is in the Oriental manuscript collection of Salar Jung Museum Library, Hyderabad, Acc. no. 4403-101.

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