Zal and the Simurgh

This Persian miniature features a rocky, stylized mountain formation to the right where the Simurgh—a large bird with multicolored plumage and a long, flowing tail—perches in a tree. Below, a young, fair-skinned man, Zal, stands in a submissive pose. To the left, a group of riders in colorful robes and turbans, mounted on horses, observe the scene from a dense, verdant thicket of trees and flowers. The composition is framed by elegant columns of Persian Nastaliq calligraphy, typical of manuscript illumination.

This scene is an episode from the Shahnameh, the Persian national epic by the poet Ferdowsi. The Simurgh, a symbol of divine wisdom and healing, famously rescued and raised Zal, the father of the hero Rostam, after he was abandoned as an infant due to his albinism.