Enchanting Persian World Miniature Painting

This miniature painting evokes freedom and transcendence through the release of Simurgh, framed in myth, poetry, and reflection

Artwork Description

 about this miniature painting

This Iranian miniature painting offers a multilayered narrative shaped by mythology, philosophy, and historical aesthetics. At its center sits a woman in traditional Persian dress, gently holding an open birdcage.

Above her, a brilliantly colored Simurgh hovers an ancient mythical bird symbolizing wisdom, healing, and transcendence in Persian literature and Sufi mysticism. The act of releasing the Simurgh serves as a metaphor for spiritual awakening and freedom from both physical and intellectual confines.

The woman appears as both the captor and the liberator, expressing human duality, our deep attachments and our yearning for release. This tension enriches the painting’s emotional and symbolic weight. 

Surrounding the central image is a striking blue circular border, painted to resemble a cracked Neyshabur ceramic plate. The vessel carries an inscription in Kufic script, quoting the revered poet Parvin Etesami: "What good is it to be with kings when there is no freedom?" This verse critiques the pursuit of power without liberty, adding a direct social and ethical reflection.

The cracked ceramic form acts as both visual texture and potent symbol, a fracture in tradition, a call for renewal. Floating cloud motifs emphasize the contrast between earthly limitation and celestial transcendence.

The pale green background, framed with delicate gold, imparts a dreamlike, meditative quality to the composition. Every element invites the viewer to reflect on freedom, spiritual evolution, and the quiet yet radical force of letting go.

View her Dubai collection of available paintings here

about the artist

Parisa Sahafiasl is an Iranian‑Turkish miniature artist and academic born in Ardabil in 1984. She earned her master’s in Art Studies from Tehran Shahed University in 2010. Her 2020 PhD focused on Seljuk miniature art traditions at Ondokuz Mayıs University in Turkey.

She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Traditional Turkish Arts at Erciyes University, Kayseri. Parisa’s research spans Islamic architecture, illumination, and Seljuk‑era manuscript traditions. She has held solo exhibitions since 2013 and participated in numerous international symposia and juried shows.

Her work has appeared in Iran, Turkey, and across Europe, recognized for scholarly depth and visual elegance. Through her practice, Sahafiasl revives ancient decorative traditions with contemporary sensibility and academic rigor.

Copyright

This miniature painting is one of a kind original therefore, all copyrights and reproduction rights are reserved by the artist.