The Mantiq al-tair, composed by the Persian poet Farid al-Din ^cAttar (ca. 1142–1220), is an allegorical text about man's quest for spiritual union. This royal copy of the manuscript was prepared, with four paintings, in the atelier of the Timurid sovereign and patron Sultan Husain Baiqara in 1486–87. It was later prized at the Safavid court under Shah ^cAbbas I, who had four paintings, including this one, added to the manuscript about 1600. In 1609, the manuscript was presented by Shah ^cAbbas to the shrine of his ancestors at Ardabil.

In this painting, the birds symbolize individual souls in search of the simurgh (a mystical bird representing the ultimate spiritual unity) and are assembled here to begin their pilgrimage under the leadership of the hoopoe (perched on a rock at center right). The painting style is conservative and perfectly harmonious with the four paintings of the original Timurid manuscript except for a late-model firearm clutched by the hunter at the upper right, who has no place in the narrative.

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