"Zal Consults the Magi", Folio 73v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp
Sultan Muhammad|Abu'l Qasim Firdausi|Sultan Muhammad
ca. 1530–35 · Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper · Islamic Art
In this painting, Zal is depicted enthroned as he consults his magi, or Zoroastrian wise men, on how to win his father’s approval to marry Rudaba, the granddaughter of the evil king Zahhak. The phoenix-like bird on the canopy may refer to the simurgh, which saved and nurtured the infant Zal, whose parents had rejected him for being an albino. The sinuous flowering trees often appear in Turkmen painting of Tabriz.
- Artist
- Sultan Muhammad|Abu'l Qasim Firdausi|Sultan Muhammad
- Date
- ca. 1530–35
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper
- Department
- Islamic Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Arthur A. Houghton Jr., 1970
