This is a hand-drawn original replica of a relief in Persepolis the capital of the Persian Achaemenid Empire.

The ancient luxury palace symbolized the greatness of Persia to ancient visitors of the King,

The Relief is a sculptural technique where the artist carves his subject out of a flat, solid background.

Scientists have performed tests on surface samples taken from the limestone reliefs at Persepolis and found that the reliefs were all painted in their day. They have been able to identify pigmentation derived from Egyptian blue, azurite, malachite, hematite, cinnabar, yellow ochre, and even a rare green mineral, tyrolite. As impressive as the sculptures are today, imagine how awe-inspiring they would have been when decorated with vibrant colour.