Artist: Anonymous (Islamic) Period: late 10th century AH/AD 16th century-13th century AH/AD 19th century (Mughal; Safavid; Qajar) Dimensions: Height: 29.5 cm (11.6 in); Width: 19 cm (7.4 in) These 2 illustrations from Walters W.668 have been removed from a Mughal manuscript of Gulistan by Sa'di (ca. 1018 AH/AD 1610). Both are from the opening chapter, entitled The conduct of kings. The lower register depicts a king who had given a large sum of money to a beggar, who squandered it and then returned for more. At first, the king refused the beggar additional money, but his minister advised him to allot the poor man an allowance in installments so that he would not squander it. This anecdote is meant to illustrate that one should not render someone hopeful by an act of unbounded kindness and then dash his or her hopes. The upper register depicts a prince visiting holy men in the wilderness.

Mughal-Library