# "The Angel Surush Rescues Khusrau Parviz from a Cul-de-sac", Folio 708v from the Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp

**Abu'l Qasim Firdausi** (Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus)  
ca. 1530–35  
Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, and gold on paper  
Painting: H. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm) W. 11 in. (27.9 cm) Page: H. 18 5/8 in. (47.3 cm) W. 12 3/8 in. (31.4 cm) Mat: H. 22 in. (55.9 cm) W. 16 in. (40.6 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970.301.73. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/452182).

## About this work

Fleeing the rebel general Bahram Chubina, the Sasanian king Khusrau Parviz rides into a narrow mountain pass that turns out to be a dead end. As his pursuers close in, he prays, and the angel Surush appears, takes his hand and leads him to safety. This moment of divine rescue comes near the end of Ferdowsi’s Shahnama, in its historical section on the Sasanian kings. The page belongs to the copy made for Shah Tahmasp around 1530–35, painted by artists of the royal workshop in Tabriz.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Abu'l Qasim Firdausi painted this in about 1530–35. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Opaque watercolour.** Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.
- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.
- **Ink on paper.** Ink made from soot and animal glue, ground with water on an inkstone. A single brush can give a hair-fine line or a broad wash, and nothing can be corrected.

### [Abu'l Qasim Firdausi](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/abu-l-qasim-firdausi)

Iranian, Paj ca. 940/41–1020 Tus

## Facts

- Type: Codices
- Real size: about 19 × 12 in (47 × 31 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Men, Horses, Angels
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1236.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1236/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-angel-surush-rescues-khusrau-parviz-from-a-cul-de-sac-fo-met-452182).