Folio from Folio from a Divan of Hafiz held at Metropolitan Musuem of Art, New York, USA. 1917, 17.81.4

COMMENT: This miniature from a dispersed manuscript of the poems of Hafiz depicts Sufis or mystics dancing. In the court style of Herat, the rhythm set up by the whirling of the dancers contrasts with the meditative figures encircling them. Those overcome by the movement of the dance seen in the foreground exemplify the naturalism of this period, while the scene is set against a verdant landscape resembling an earthly paradise.