Saffron Image Replacement Inventory

Why: Recommend keeping the SVG as the opening register, OR adding one quiet hero as a full-bleed backdrop behind the parchment card. A busy food-magazine hero would break the editorial tone.

Orientation:

Full-width 16:9 · 2400 × 1350

Min resolution:

2400 px long edge, 300 dpi

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Subject: Overhead close-up of a small brass or copper Persian dish holding a few dozen deep-red saffron threads on unbleached linen. Soft single-source natural light from the left. No hands, no props beyond the dish. Neutral warm palette. No on-camera text.

  Source: Adobe Stock (Getty for a signature shot)

Why: Keep the diagram — only a labelled illustration teaches the anatomy. Optionally add ONE supporting macro beside it so the diagram meets a real flower.

Orientation:

1:1 square 1600 × 1600 or 4:5 portrait

Min resolution:

1600 px short edge

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Subject: Extreme macro of a single open Crocus sativus flower, three crimson stigmas clearly visible against pale-purple petals, black background, natural light, no props.

  Source: Adobe Stock, Alamy (botanical macro)

Why: Each era card is text-only. One authentic photograph per card lets visitors feel the century without adding reading load. Silk Road and Khorasan are the cornerstone shots.

Orientation:

3:2 landscape 1800 × 1200 · one per card

Min resolution:

1800 px long edge

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  Reference only · will not ship

  a · ~1500 BCE — Aegean & Persia

  Subject: Editorial photograph of the Akrotiri saffron-gatherers fresco (Xeste 3, Thera), museum lighting, no visitors in frame.

  Source: Getty editorial (museum-licensed)

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  Reference only · will not ship

  b · 10th c. — Avicenna's Persia

  Subject: Photograph of an actual manuscript page from Avicenna's Canon of Medicine (any surviving copy), shallow depth of field on the calligraphy.

  Source: Alamy editorial

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  Reference only · will not ship

  c · Middle Ages — Silk Road

  Subject: Editorial still of hand-tied bundles of saffron threads on antique brass scales, warm daylight, no modern branding.

  Source: Adobe Stock or Alamy

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  Reference only · will not ship

  d · Today — Iranian plateau

  Subject: Documentary photograph of a Khorasan saffron field at dawn, hand-picking in progress, workers' hands and baskets in focus, no faces required.

  Source: Commission — authentic Khorasan is thin on stockCommission only

Why: The number IS the visual. A photograph competes with it. If ever imagery is added here, use a diagrammatic scale ladder (flower → threads → pinch → pound), not a stock photo.

Why: Adulteration is a visual problem — words alone cannot show colour and shape. Paired shots with identical framing solve it and most directly protect the reader.

Orientation:

Two matched squares 1400 × 1400 (+ optional 3:2 bloom test)

Min resolution:

1600 px short edge · identical lighting across the pair

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  Reference only · will not ship

  a · REAL

  Subject: Macro of authentic Iranian sargol saffron threads on white ceramic — deep crimson, orange trumpet-flared tips, uneven length. Studio softbox, no colour cast.

  Source: Adobe Stock

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  Reference only · will not ship

  b · SUSPECT

  Subject: Macro of typical safflower / dyed corn-silk imitations on the same white ceramic — uniform bright red-orange, even strips. Identical framing to the real shot.

  Source: Commission — matched pairs are rare on stockCommission only

• No reference · commission from brief

  c · Optional bloom test

  Subject: Two identical glass tumblers of warm water, real saffron blooming yellow on the left, dyed imitation bleeding red on the right, shot from above at t = 10 minutes.

  Source: CommissionCommission only

Why: Blooming is the technique most home cooks skip. A three-frame photographic sequence carries the lesson faster than prose and dignifies the ritual.

Orientation:

Three matched 1:1 squares 1600 × 1600 · identical framing

Min resolution:

1600 px short edge

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  Reference only · will not ship

  01 · Warm a spoon

  Subject: Overhead of 6–8 saffron threads in a small white porcelain dish, a spoon of clear warm water being poured from a small copper vessel. Natural light. No hands if possible; if hands, culturally neutral and unpolished.

  Source: Commission (Adobe Stock fallback with mismatched framing)Commission only

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  Reference only · will not ship

  02 · Wait ten minutes

  Subject: Same dish, same angle, ten minutes later. Water has turned deep uniform red. Nothing else in frame.

  Source: Commission (same session as 01)Commission only

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  Reference only · will not ship

  03 · Stir it in last

  Subject: Bloomed saffron liquid being poured from the small dish into a copper pot of finished Persian chelow rice, off the heat. Steam visible. Framed to show red liquid meeting white rice.

  Source: Commission (same session as 01/02)Commission only

Why: The single most important safety idea in the guide is 'food-level pinch' vs 'concentrated capsule'. One honest still-life nails it and prevents overdose confusion.

Orientation:

16:9 landscape 2000 × 1125

Min resolution:

2000 px long edge

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Subject: Overhead still-life on unbleached linen. Left: small Persian brass dish holding 6–8 authentic saffron threads. Right: one plain white supplement capsule of comparable visual weight. Nothing else in frame — no branded packaging, no pills spilling, no text. Neutral single-source daylight.

  Source: Commission — no-brand stock pairing is essentially unavailableCommission only

Why: Evidence chapter. Stock imagery of 'a sad person' would push us into wellness-marketing territory and invite claims we deliberately do not make. Typography IS the visual.

Why: Sober tone required. A stock 'woman holding her stomach' image would undercut the evidence register. Typography holds the chapter.

Why: No medical iconography. A 'brain' or 'elderly patient' stock shot would misrepresent the evidence strength badge.

Why: Same doctrine as 07–09. If a signature image is ever needed across the evidence chapters, use ONE shared culturally-neutral botanical (dry threads on parchment) as a low-opacity chapter mark, never a wellness-stock body shot.

Why: Safety must not be prettified. A pregnant-woman or pill-bottle photograph softens the seriousness. The warning border IS the visual language.

Why: The six most culturally sensitive images in the entire guide. AI photography of Persian food is expressly forbidden. This is the single largest commission block in the guide.

Orientation:

Six matched 1:1 squares 1400 × 1400 · same light temperature, same background palette

Min resolution:

1600 px short edge

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Chelow

  Subject: Traditional Persian chelow served on an authentic Persian platter, top layer folded with bloomed saffron rice, tahdig visible at the edge, no non-Persian garnish.

  Source: Adobe Stock / Shutterstock

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Sholeh-zard

  Subject: Nowruz sholeh-zard in a shallow ceramic bowl, cinnamon calligraphy and slivered pistachio on top, saffron colour visible throughout.

  Source: Adobe Stock / Shutterstock

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Morgh za'faran

  Subject: Persian saffron chicken finished with bloomed saffron and a squeeze of lemon, plated on a Persian ceramic dish, no rice on the plate.

  Source: Commission — reliable authentic imagery is scarce; stock often mislabels Indian/TurkishCommission only

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Bastani

  Subject: Saffron ice cream (bastani sonnati) with visible saffron threads, rose water, pistachio slivers, served in a small glass, no waffle cones or western presentation.

  Source: Adobe Stock / Shutterstock

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Saffron tea

  Subject: Persian tea served in an estekan on a saucer with a sugar cube (qand) beside it, two or three bloomed saffron threads visible in the amber tea.

  Source: Adobe Stock / Shutterstock

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Evening milk

  Subject: Small glass or ceramic cup of warm milk with a single bloomed saffron thread, a spoon of honey resting on the rim, on a plain wooden surface.

  Source: Commission — reliable authentic imagery is scarceCommission only

Why: Closing chapter. One honest still-life of storage-done-well leaves a lingering image of care and puts a soft period on the guide.

Orientation:

3:2 landscape 1800 × 1200

Min resolution:

1800 px long edge

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  Reference only · will not ship

  Subject: Overhead still-life of a small amber or dark-glass airtight jar of saffron threads on a plain wooden shelf, away from a window, no direct light. No labels, no brand, no props. Warm muted palette.

  Source: Adobe Stock or Getty (commission not required)