The Prostration of the Angels before Adam

This manuscript illumination features a pale, central figure of Adam with flowing golden hair and a shaven head, seated on a blue ground scattered with small floral motifs. Surrounding him are six angels, each with large, detailed wings in shades of orange, yellow, and blue; they wear patterned tunics and are posed in gestures of submission, their heads lowered and bodies bent toward the ground. In the upper right corner, detached from the group of bowing angels, sits the figure of Iblis, depicted with a darker, brooding expression, resting his head on his hand in a gesture of refusal. The background is a vibrant mix of stylized rocky hills and a golden sky, characteristic of Persian miniature painting.

This image illustrates the Quranic account of the creation of man, specifically the command for the angels to bow before Adam and Iblis's subsequent refusal, an event that sets in motion the narrative of his fall and the enmity between Satan and humanity. It originates from a manuscript of the 'Majalis al-'ushshaq' (Assemblies of the Lovers), a 16th-century Persian hagiographic work.