4to; xiv, 102 pp of plates, 2 coloured frontispiece tissue guarded plates; the rest are black and white; Hardback covers in very good condition; Text in Japanese (7 pp) and English (7 pages); Introduction by Horiuchi part of the Institute of Oriental culture, University of Tokyo; First Edition, printed by The Yamakawa Publishing Co. Ltd, Tokyo, 1969.

Synopsis

Ṭāq-e Bostān, or Tāq-i-Bustān, village in western Iran, just northeast of Kermānshāh city. It is known for its rock carvings (bas-reliefs) of Sāsānid origin (3rd to 7th century AD). The carvings, some of the finest and best-preserved examples of Persian sculpture under the Sāsānians, include representations of the investitures of Ardashīr II (reigned AD 379–383) and of Shāpūr III (383–388), the latter in a man-made cave carved in the form of an iwan (three-sided, barrel-vaulted hall, open at one end) [Encyclopedia Iranica]