Although this copy of the Mantiq al-tair was transcribed in 1486–87 and finished with four paintings, it was refurbished about 1600 for Shah ^cAbbas, who had margins, frontispiece, and four more paintings added. The refurbished manuscript was then provided this sumptuous new binding.

The long-established Islamic tradition of decorative bookbinding had its most elaborate phase under the Safavid dynasty. The style, however, was adapted from the splendid production of luxury bindings of the preceding Timurid period, during which master craftsmen, probably with the assistance of designers and artists, elaborated on the traditional techniques of earlier Islamic bindings.

This bookbinding is an excellent example of the most common and widespread type of Safavid binding with its use of a centralized design of medallions, quadrants, and extensive panel stamping. The vertical format had been customary for Islamic book covers since the tenth century. The covers are joined to a spine, and a fore-edge flap connects to the pentagonal envelope flap, always tucked under the left side of the top cover. The field pattern was created by the use of a mold, as can be seen by the dividing line across the binding.

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