of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror?”
“The books that Shah Tahmasp sent His Excellency Sultan Selim; Denizen of
Paradise; as a present twenty…five years ago;” said Master Osman。
The dwarf brought us to a large wooden cabi。 Master Osman grew
impatient as he opened the doors and cast his eyes on the volumes before him。
He opened one; read its colophon and leafed through its pages。 Together; we
gazed in astonishment at the carefully drawn illustrations of khans with
slightly slanted eyes。
“”Genghis Khan; Chagatai Khan; Tuluy Khan and Kublai Khan the Ruler of
China;“” read Master Osman before closing the book and taking up another。
We came across an incredibly beautiful illustration depicting the scene in
which Ferhad; empowered by love; carries his beloved Shirin and her horse
away on his shoulder。 To convey the passion and woe of the lovers; the rocks
on the mountain; the clouds and the three noble cypresses witnessing
Ferhad’s act of love were drawn with a trembling grief…stricken hand in such
agony that Master Osman and I were instantly affected by the taste of tears
and sorrow in the falling leaves。 This touching moment had been depicted—as
326
the great masters intended—not to signify Ferhad’s muscular strength; but
rather to convey how the pain of his love was felt at once throughout the
entire world。
“A Bihzad imitation made in Tabriz eighty years ago;” Master Osman said
as he replaced the volume and opened another。
This was a picture that showed the forced friendship between the cat and
the mouse from Kelile and Dimne。 Out in the fields; a poor mouse; caught
between the attacks of a marten on the ground and a hawk in the air; finds his
salvation in an unfortunate cat caught in a hunter’s trap。 They e to an
agreement: The cat; pretending to be the mouse’s friend; licks him; thereby
scaring away the marten and the hawk。 In turn; the mouse cautiously frees the
cat from the snare。 Even before I could understand the painter’s sensibility;
the master had stuffed the book back beside the other volumes and had
randomly opened another。
This was a pleasant picture of a mysterious woman and a man: The woman
had elegantly opened one hand while asking a question; holding her knee with
the other over her green cloak; as the man turned to her and listened intently。
I looked at the picture avidly; jealous of the intimacy; love and friendship
between them。
Putting that book down; Master Osman opened to a page from another
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