The picture (Legend = اسطوره, Originally uploaded by Shahireh) shows one of the 19th century stained glass windows of St Ann's church, Manchester, UK.
This image reminds me of Sohrab, one of the legendary figures of Shahnameh (translated as The Book of Kings). Shahnameh is a Persian epic written by Abu'l-Qasem Ferdowsi in the 10th century. It is one of the world-famous literary masterpieces and is translated in many languages. Many original copies of the book exist in libraries throughout the world; yet, it remains unknown to most of the English readers!
According to Charles Melville (2007) Shahnameh holds the record of the longest poem written by one author (it contains 50,000 verses). The same source also indicates that the first illustrated version of the book dates back to 1300. The illustrated versions contain the miniature paintings some of which are masterpieces in their own rights.
Shahnama Project aims to produce an electronic collection of painting of shahnameh manuscripts and to promote the study of shahnameh (what took them so long?). More can be read about Shahnama Project by visiting their site:
[I've named Shahnama Project as I am aware of their work; please feel free to add other sources in the comment section.]
Reference:
Charles Melville (2007) Shahnama Project
Accessed on 22 Feb 2008
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