The Angels Bowing to Adam

The scene is set in a lush, stylized landscape with a golden-yellow ground and flowering plants. In the center, a pale, nude Adam lies horizontally with his legs crossed. Surrounding him are four winged angels in various states of prostration; they have colorful wings—red, yellow, blue, and white—and are depicted in colorful tunics and trousers, their heads bowed or touching the earth. To the right, an older, bearded man wearing a white turban and a brown robe sits in a respectful, kneeling posture on a rectangular, striped rug. Above the landscape are decorative white clouds against a pale, speckled background.

This image depicts the Quranic narrative found in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:34) and elsewhere, where God commands the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam. The scene is a standard motif in Persian manuscript illumination representing the moment of human creation and the establishment of Adam's superiority among the celestial beings, excluding Iblis, who refused to bow.