Mihrdukht aims her arrow at the ring

The story-tellers’ epic of the hero Amir Hamza was a favourite of the young emperor Akbar. Early in his reign he commissioned a series of 1400 large scale illustrations, which took his painting studio 15 years to complete. In this tale the beautiful Mihrdukht, a brilliant archer, repels her unwanted suitors by challenging them to shoot an arrow through a ring held in the beak of a golden bird at the top of a tall tower. Here she effortlessly demonstrates this feat.

To view a high-resolution version of this image and for further information please visit the Yousef Jameel Online Centre at the Ashmolean.