Miniature from a copy of Firdawsi’s Shahnama. ‘Rakhsh Kills an Attacking Lion While Rustam Sleeps’

The greatest of the Persian heroes in Firdawsi’s Book of Kings is undoubtedly Rustam, who was so big at his birth that he had to be delivered with a cesarean section. He was inseparable from his wise stallion Rakhsh, the only horse that could carry him and – as here – often saved the hero thanks to its courage and sagacity.

The painter, who worked in the Turkmen style, depicted the animals’ bloody struggle against a peaceful and idyllic landscape, and showed Rustam, always ready for battle but sleeping soundly, wearing his characteristic tiger caftan and leopard helmet. A Chinese ling zhi cloud hovers in the golden sky.