Detail from 'Rustam Sleeps while Rakhsh Kills an Attacking Lion'

Shahnama
Iran, Shiraz?
1460-1480
Leaf: 34.2 × 21.3 cm
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.
Source: The DDavid Collection, Copenhagen, Denmark.