Entertainment in a palace garden

Artist: Faizullah

ca. 1765-1770

opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Aga Khan Museum

A dynamic panorama depicts a princess with attendants and musicians watching a dancer in a palace garden, with distant vignettes of daily life. A dynamic panorama depicts a princess with attendants and musicians watching a dancer in a palace garden, with distant vignettes of daily life. This dynamic panorama depicts the courtyards and gardens of a large and complex palace. The central scene shows a princess with attendants and musicians watching a dancer skilfully balancing flasks. In the distant background, tiny vignettes of daily life contrast with this peek into the private royal quarters: boats ply the river, a horseman is attacked by a crocodile, two oxen work an irrigation well, and a princely figure on an elephant enters a tiger-filled enclosure ready for the hunt. A