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Illustrations from
Maqamat of al-Hariri
Vienna manuscript AF 9, 1334AD
Folio 42v
FIG. 26
Tavern scene, from the Vienna Maqamat, probably Damascus, 734/1334
Ink. colours and gold on paper
Vienna. Nationalbibliothek.
A.F.9, fol. 42v
A striking painting of a female lute-player is found in the Mamluk Maqamat now in the Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, dated 734/1334 and probably produced in Damascus (fig. 26). This is an all-male party scene, with the exception of a woman wearing sumptuous garments, and a light, transparent veil so her face is visibie, and with henna marks on both hands and feet. She is playing, left-handed, a lute with beautifully carved decoration, and sitting cross-legged at the same level as a male figure who holds a beaker in one hand and caresses her face with the other.
Source: Picturing music in Islamic art by Anna Contadini