An illustrated and illuminated leaf from a manuscript of Ahmedi's Iskandernama: Alexander Entertained in China, Turkey, circa 1600

Ink and gouache on paper, heightened with gold, 13 lines of Ottoman Turkish written in naskh script in black ink in three columns, headings in red ink, columns and margins ruled in gold and black, painting depicting a reclining figure with an attendant and musicians, reverse with 21 lines of text 

In generally good overall condition, some small areas of flaking to the painting, some mild stains to the outer margins, otherwise good, as viewed.
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This unusual and stylised painting originates from a manuscript of Ahmedi's Ottoman Turkish romance, the Iskandername. A further painting, a double page illustrated in the H. Verver Collection, bears similar features and is likely to be the frontispiece of the same manuscript (see I. Stchoukine, La Peuinture Turque, IIme partie, Paris, 1971, pll.II, III). Both illustrations share the same figural type with large, outsize eyes, as well as the carpet set against a backdrop of hills covered in dense vegetation.