The Heavenly Scribes (from 'ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt')

Two figures with large, patterned wings are depicted in profile, facing one another. They wear white turbans and elaborate robes with decorative borders, seated in a kneeling position. Each angel holds a scroll in their lap and writes upon it with a reed pen, their expressions focused and calm. The use of line is emphasized in the flowing drapery and the schematic representation of the wings, characteristic of 13th-century Mesopotamian manuscript illumination.

This illustration originates from the 'ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt' (Wonders of Creation and Oddities of Existence) by the Persian cosmographer Zakariya al-Qazwini. It represents the Islamic tradition of 'Kiraman Katibin', the two recording angels who attend every human being to note their good and bad deeds.