Many of the recurring symbols in Persian painting come from Persian poetry. In the sources, the cypress stands for the graceful figure of the beloved, the rose and the nightingale for the beloved and the lover, the Simorgh for a protecting power and, in Sufi poetry, for God, and the enclosed garden for paradise. Other images arrived from outside Iran: the cloud bands and dragons of Persian painting came from Chinese art in the Mongol period, and the lion and sun became the emblem of Persia by the time of Shah Abbas.
This page explains each symbol with the source that describes it, and ends with how painters in our gallery use Persian imagery today. It is part of our guide to contemporary Iranian and Persian painting.
Key takeaways
- The Encyclopaedia Iranica says Persian poets use the cypress in metaphors for "the graceful figure and stately gait of the beloved".
- The Encyclopaedia Iranica calls the rose and the nightingale "the types of beloved and lover par excellence" and says the theme was the principal decorative subject of the Safavid (1501 to 1722) and Qajar (1785 to 1925) eras.
- In Attar's poem Mantiq al-Tayr, thirty birds, si morgh in Persian, reach the Simorgh and find that they are one with it, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- The Aga Khan Museum explains that the English word "paradise" comes from an ancient Persian term meaning "walled garden".
- The Encyclopaedia Iranica says the lion and sun had become the recognized emblem of Persia by the reign of Shah Abbas, and that Fath-Ali Shah created the Order of the Lion and Sun in 1807 to 1810.
The cypress
The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by Houshang Alam says the cypress, sarv in Persian, is often mentioned in classical Persian poetry "as a distinguished garden tree" and appears in many metaphors for the graceful figure and stately walk of the beloved. It also lists older meanings. A Zoroastrian tradition, recorded by the poet Daqiqi in the Shahnameh, says Zoroaster brought a sapling of the "noble cypress" from paradise to King Goshtasp, who planted it near the first fire temple at Kashmar. The Iranica reports that this tree was cut down on the orders of the caliph al-Mutawakkil in the ninth century.
The cypress is also a tree of graves and shrines. The Iranica notes that cypresses are planted in cemeteries and around the tombs of venerated figures across Iran, including the tomb precinct of the poet Hafez in Shiraz. The cypress at Abarkuh in Fars is believed by botanists to be more than 4,000 years old. Some scholars, the Iranica adds, see the boteh, the teardrop shape known in English as paisley, as a stylized cypress with its top bent by the wind.
The rose and the nightingale
Gol o bolbol means "rose and nightingale". The Encyclopaedia Iranica says Persian poets have used the pair as a metaphor for earthly and spiritual love in epic, romance, lyric and mystical poetry, and that alone, the rose stood for perfection and beauty and could figure the beloved, the prince or the Prophet Muhammad, while the singing nightingale could be the lover or the poet. Together they are beloved and lover. In mystical poetry, the nightingale's longing for the rose stands for the soul's longing for union with God.
In painting, the Iranica entry by Layla Diba traces the theme from the rose as a landscape element in 14th-century manuscripts, through 15th-century silk bird-and-flower paintings based on Chinese models, to 16th-century Shahnameh illustrations of flowering rose trees with nightingales in the branches. In 17th-century Isfahan it spread to textiles and lacquer, and in Qajar times the phrase gol o bolbol came to mean all bird and flower designs and, by the late Qajar period, even Persia itself.
The Simorgh
The Simorgh is a giant mythical bird. The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by Hanns-Peter Schmidt traces the name to the Avestan "bird Saena", originally a bird of prey such as an eagle or falcon. In Sasanian art of the sixth and seventh centuries, the related creature called the Senmurv has the head of a dog, the wings and usually the tail of a peacock, and appears on the robes of King Khosrow II in the rock reliefs of Taq-e Bostan.
In the Shahnameh the Simorgh is the saviour, teacher and guardian of the hero Zal, and gives him a feather to burn when he needs her. Our page on the Shahnameh in painting tells that story. In Sufi poetry the bird becomes a symbol of God. The Iranica describes Attar's Mantiq al-Tayr, in which thirty birds, si morgh, survive a long and dangerous quest to find their king, the Simorgh, and realise they are one with it. The Iranica adds that we do not know how Ferdowsi or Attar pictured the bird; in the much later manuscript paintings, the Simorgh is a fantastic bird.
The garden and the chahar bagh
The Aga Khan Museum explains that the classic plan of a formal Persian garden is the chahar bagh, "four garden", a walled park with water channels, and that the English word "paradise" comes from the ancient Persian pairidaeza, "walled garden". The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry on Chinese and Iranian painting says Persian painters, used to a harsher environment, painted idealized settings "that they expected to find only in paradise". Our page on surrealism and Persian painting looks at the garden as a world set apart.
The pomegranate
The pomegranate's meaning in Iranian custom is clearest in the winter festival of Yalda. UNESCO, which inscribed Yalda/Chella on its Representative List in 2022, describes families gathering on the last night of autumn around a table with a lamp for light, water for cleanliness, and red fruits such as pomegranates, watermelons, beetroots, jujube and grapes "to symbolize warmth". The evening also includes reciting poetry and telling stories.
The lion and sun
The lion and sun shows a lion with the sun rising behind it. The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by A. Shapur Shahbazi on the flags of Persia says that by the Safavid period the lion and sun "had become a familiar sign everywhere", on copper coins, banners and artworks, and that it was the recognized emblem of Persia by the reign of Shah Abbas. The entry suggests the choice may rest on the Shahnameh's references to "the Sun of Iran". In 1807 to 1810, Fath-Ali Shah created the Order of the Persian Lion and Sun, modelled on the French Légion d'honneur, and Persia was given an official flag with the lion and sun as its device.
Cloud bands and dragons
Several decorative forms in Persian painting came from China. The Met's essay on Ilkhanid art, the art of Iran's Mongol rulers from 1256 to 1353, says new motifs entered the painter's repertoire at that time, "including an altered and more Chinese depiction of pictorial space, as well as motifs such as lotuses and peonies, cloud bands, and dragons and phoenixes". The Encyclopaedia Iranica entry by Toh Sugimura names the "convoluted clouds, the so-called ling zhi clouds", along with gnarled trees, stylized rocks and crested waves, and says the "cloud collar" became frequent in the Timurid period.
In the Shahnameh, dragons are monsters for heroes to kill: Rostam kills one in the third of his seven labours, and so does the prince Esfandiyar. The Metropolitan Museum of Art owns the page "Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon" from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp. Our page on Persian miniature painting explains how these motifs were painted.
Common symbols in Persian painting, what the sources say they mean, and where to find them
| Symbol |
Meaning in the sources |
Where it appears |
Source |
| Cypress (sarv) |
The graceful figure of the beloved; memory at tombs; a sacred tree in Zoroastrian tradition |
Garden scenes; the boteh on shawls and carpets |
Encyclopaedia Iranica |
| Rose and nightingale (gol o bolbol) |
Beloved and lover; in mystical poetry the soul longing for God |
Shahnameh illustrations; Safavid and Qajar lacquer, textiles and tiles |
Encyclopaedia Iranica |
| Simorgh |
Guardian of Zal; in Sufi poetry a symbol of God |
Shahnameh illustrations; Sasanian reliefs as the Senmurv |
Encyclopaedia Iranica |
| Walled garden (chahar bagh) |
Paradise |
Garden receptions; garden carpets |
Aga Khan Museum |
| Pomegranate |
Warmth, as one of the red fruits of Yalda night |
The Yalda table |
UNESCO |
| Lion and sun |
Emblem of the Persian state from the Safavids on |
Coins, banners, artworks, a Qajar royal order |
Encyclopaedia Iranica |
| Cloud bands |
Decorative forms from Chinese art |
Skies and borders from the Ilkhanid period on |
Metropolitan Museum of Art; Encyclopaedia Iranica |
| Dragon |
A monster for heroes to defeat |
Rostam's and Esfandiyar's third labours |
Encyclopaedia Iranica; Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Reading the symbols in a painting
We suggest starting with the text: identify the story or poem the painting illustrates, then look for the images the poets used to describe it. Read with the sources above in mind, a cypress beside a young figure recalls the poets' comparison with the beloved's figure, and a nightingale in a rose tree recalls the lover's longing.
Kamal al-Din Ghotb's Siyavash Passing Through the Fire shows how many of these forms can meet in one classical page. Its product page describes blue and white cloud scrolls running behind the flames, nastaliq verse set in white cloud-shaped spaces on gold, a winged dragon-creature drawn in fine line in the left margin, and a blossoming tree on gold marking the far side of the prince's ordeal.
Persian imagery in our gallery's contemporary work
Several painters we work with name Persian poetry or painting among their sources, and their artist pages describe the images they return to. The page for Roshan describes her Tree of Life series, with "organic forms and branching structures against luminous, gradient backgrounds" in golds, deep blues and warm ochres, and lists Sufi poetry and Persian miniature painting among her inspirations. The page for Marjan Mousavi quotes her: "I am drawn to what rises: birds, light, hope." It lists Persian lyrical poetry, bird migration patterns and Rumi among her inspirations. The page for Ziba Vishteh lists "Persian poetry's treatment of absence" among hers, alongside minimalist painting and silence.
Frequently asked questions
What does the cypress mean in Persian poetry and painting?
The cypress in Persian poetry and painting stands above all for the graceful figure and stately walk of the beloved, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica. It also carries older meanings: a Zoroastrian tradition says Zoroaster brought a cypress sapling from paradise, and cypresses are planted around tombs across Iran, including that of Hafez in Shiraz.
What is the boteh, or paisley, motif?
The boteh is the teardrop-shaped motif known in English as paisley, found on shawls, carpets and other textiles. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says some scholars believe the boteh is a stylized cypress with its top bent by the wind, which links it to one of the oldest symbols in Persian art.
How old is the Abarkuh cypress?
The Abarkuh cypress in the province of Fars is believed by botanists to be more than 4,000 years old, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica. If so, it is by far the oldest known tree in Iran and one of the oldest living organisms in the world. A writer described a magnificent cypress there in 1339.
What does the rose and nightingale mean in Persian art?
The rose and nightingale, gol o bolbol in Persian, stand for the beloved and the lover. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says the rose can figure the beloved, the prince or the Prophet, and the nightingale the lover or poet; in mystical poetry the nightingale's longing for the rose is the soul's longing for God.
When did the rose and nightingale become the main decorative theme in Iran?
The rose and nightingale became the principal decorative theme of Iranian art in the Safavid (1501 to 1722) and Qajar (1785 to 1925) eras, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica. By the late Qajar period, the phrase gol o bolbol had come to mean all bird and flower designs and even Persia itself.
What does the Simorgh stand for in Sufi poetry?
The Simorgh stands for God in Sufi poetry, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica. In Attar's Mantiq al-Tayr, thirty birds, si morgh in Persian, survive a dangerous quest to reach their king, the Simorgh, and realise that they are one with it. The Persian words si morgh, thirty birds, echo the bird's own name.
What was the Senmurv in Sasanian art?
The Senmurv was a composite creature in Sasanian art, related to the Simorgh, with the head of a dog and the wings and usually the tail of a peacock. The Encyclopaedia Iranica says it appears in the sixth and seventh centuries, most famously on King Khosrow II's robes in the rock reliefs of Taq-e Bostan.
What is a chahar bagh?
A chahar bagh, "four garden" in Persian, is the classic plan of a formal Persian garden: a walled park divided by water channels. The Aga Khan Museum explains that the English word paradise comes from the ancient Persian pairidaeza, meaning walled garden. The Encyclopaedia Iranica adds that Persian painters painted idealized settings they expected to find only in paradise.
What does the pomegranate symbolise in Iranian tradition?
The pomegranate symbolises warmth in the Iranian winter festival of Yalda, where it is one of the red fruits on the family table. UNESCO, which inscribed Yalda/Chella in 2022, lists pomegranates, watermelons, beetroots, jujube and grapes, set beside a lamp for light and water for cleanliness.
When did the lion and sun become the emblem of Iran?
The lion and sun became the recognized emblem of Persia by the reign of Shah Abbas, according to the Encyclopaedia Iranica, after it had spread across Safavid coins, banners and artworks. Fath-Ali Shah later created the Order of the Persian Lion and Sun in 1807 to 1810 and gave Persia an official lion and sun flag.
Where do the cloud bands in Persian painting come from?
The cloud bands in Persian painting come from Chinese art, and entered Persian painting under the Ilkhanids, Iran's Mongol rulers from 1256 to 1353. The Met lists cloud bands with lotuses, peonies, dragons and phoenixes, and the Encyclopaedia Iranica names the convoluted ling zhi clouds of Chinese painting and porcelain.
What is Roshan's Tree of Life series?
Roshan's Tree of Life series is a group of paintings by the Vancouver painter Roshan in which branching forms recur against luminous gradient backgrounds. Her VanArtHub artist page says the motif appears in abstracted, almost calligraphic variations in golds, deep blues and warm ochres, and lists Sufi poetry and Persian miniature painting among her inspirations.
References
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CYPRESS. Houshang Alam, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 1993; Internet Archive copy of 11 September 2026. Accessed 26 September 2026. The cypress in poetry, the Kashmar cypress, cemeteries and tombs, the Abarkuh cypress and the boteh.
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GOL O BOLBOL (English: rose and nightingale). Layla Diba, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 2001; Internet Archive copy of 29 March 2026. Accessed 26 September 2026. The meanings of the rose and nightingale and the history of the theme from the 14th century to the Qajar period.
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SIMORG (English: the Simorgh, a mythical bird). Hanns-Peter Schmidt, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 20 July 2002; Internet Archive copy of 13 September 2026. Accessed 26 September 2026. The origin of the name, the Sasanian Senmurv, the Simorgh in the Shahnameh and in Attar, and its later depiction.
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Paradise Garden: The Wagner Garden Carpet from the Burrell Collection, Glasgow. Aga Khan Museum. Undated. Accessed 26 September 2026. The chahar bagh plan and the Persian origin of the word paradise.
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CHINESE-IRANIAN RELATIONS xii. Mutual Influences in Painting. Toh Sugimura, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 1991; Internet Archive copy of 7 April 2026. Accessed 26 September 2026. Idealized settings, ling zhi clouds, dragons and the Timurid cloud collar.
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The Art of the Ilkhanid Period (1256 to 1353). Suzan Yalman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Published 2001; Internet Archive copy of 20 April 2026. Accessed 26 September 2026. The Chinese motifs introduced in the Ilkhanid period, including cloud bands.
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Yalda/Chella (English: a festival held on the last night of autumn). UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Inscribed 2022. Accessed 26 September 2026. The Yalda table and the red fruits that symbolize warmth.
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FLAGS i. Of Persia. A. Shapur Shahbazi, Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 1999; Internet Archive copy of 26 August 2026. Accessed 26 September 2026. The lion and sun under the Safavids, its possible Shahnameh origin, and the Qajar order and flag.
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HAFT KHAN (English: seven labours). Encyclopaedia Iranica. Published 15 December 2002; Internet Archive copy of 13 October 2025. Accessed 26 September 2026. The dragons of Rostam's and Esfandiyar's third labours.
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The Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History). Francesca Leoni, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Published June 2008; Internet Archive copy of 25 December 2024. Accessed 26 September 2026. The Met's page Isfandiyar's Third Course: He Slays a Dragon.
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Siyavash Passing Through the Fire: Original Persian Miniature in Oil and Gold by Kamal al-Din Ghotb. VanArtHub. Undated. Accessed 26 September 2026. The cloud scrolls, dragon-creature and blossoming tree in the painting.
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Roshan. VanArtHub. Undated. Accessed 26 September 2026. The gallery's description of the Tree of Life series and her inspirations.
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Marjan Mousavi. VanArtHub. Undated. Accessed 26 September 2026. The artist's statement and her listed inspirations.
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Ziba Vishteh. VanArtHub. Undated. Accessed 26 September 2026. Her listed inspirations.
Checked 26 September 2026. If something here is out of date, write to us and we will correct it.
