A white-bearded warrior grieves over his wounded son

A white-bearded man in a maroon and gold robe stands with one hand raised to his face in grief beside a wounded young man in an orange, gold-trimmed robe and a feathered gold helmet, who reclines on pale rocky ground reaching toward him; a small dagger lies between them. Two horses with elaborate gold headpieces flank the scene beneath a flowering tree, pink rock formations and a blue sky with red-and-white swirl clouds at the corners.

The Shahnama, or Book of Kings, is the Persian national epic: a verse history of Iran from its first kings to the Arab conquest, completed around 1010 by the poet Firdausi of Tus (c. 940–1020). Its illustrations were painted in later centuries for the rulers and patrons who commissioned copies. Illustrated manuscripts survive from the Ilkhanid period onward, from the First Small Shahnama of the early fourteenth century to Shah Tahmasp's great copy made in Tabriz, and later volumes from Qazvin, Herat and Bijapur in the Deccan. Leaves from these dispersed manuscripts are held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.