Women Consult an Astrologer, Folio from a manuscript of the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-i Nasiri)

• Accession Number:AKM288.4
• Creator:Author: Nasir al-Din Tusi, Persian, 1201 - 1274
  Created for: Nasir al-Din `Abd al-Rahim
• Place:Pakistan, Lahore
• Dimensions:23.9 cm × 14.2 cm
• Date:ca. 1590-1595
• Materials and Technique:Opaque watercolour, ink and gold on paper

• In the First Discourse, Section 10 Nasir al-Din Tusi discusses the removal of vices as a way to improve the condition of the soul, stating that the spirit needs to be maintained in the same way as the body (as illustrated in the previous painting, AKM288.3). One way to do this, the author suggests, is to avoid putting faith in false sciences such as divination and astrology. This lesson is illustrated with the image of an astrologer with the tools that that he uses to predict the future: an astrolabe and a manuscript, perhaps a falnama, a book of omens. In front of him stretches a long line of women waiting to find out their fortunes.
  
  See AKM288 for an introduction to a manuscript of the Ethics of Nasir (Akhlaq-i Nasiri) and links to the other paintings within this manuscript.
  
  — Marika Sardar