ARCHITECTURE Courtyard, 1488-89
, 1488-89
30.5 x 43 x 0.1 cm (h x w x d)
Double-page frontispiece (folios 1b–2a) in a manuscript of Saʿdi's Būstān held in Egyptian National Library, Cario, Egypt. Ms. Adab Farisi 22
COMMENT: On the left, the King is surrounded by is friends, listening to music whilst a beardless youth reads from a book. Some of the companions react emotionally to the text.
Meanhilw on the right, a more raucous celebration is progressing. In the top right a black couple are distilling alchohol. One party-goer is being helped out whilt, at the gate, a bouncer is stopping a gatecrasher from entering.