Note 6 — The Sixth New Year’s Feast after my auspicious Accession.

One of the royal slaves who was serving in the seal-cutting departments prepared and laid before me a design such as I had never seen or heard of before. As it is exceedingly strange, a detailed6 description of it is given. In the shell of a filbert four compartments had been carved out of ivory. The first compartment was one of wrestlers, in which two men were engaged in wrestling, a third was standing with a spear in his hand, a fourth with a hard stone.7 Another was sitting with his hands placed on the ground, while in front of him were laid a piece of wood, a bow and a pot. In the second a throne had been made above which a s͟hamiyāna (a tent-fly or canopy) was depicted, and a man of wealth (a prince) was seated on the throne with one leg placed over the other and a pillow at his back. Five servants were standing around and before him, and tree-boughs threw a shade over the throne. In the third compartment is a company of rope-dancers, who have raised upright a pole with three ropes fastened to it. A rope-dancer upon it (qu. on the ropes?8) has taken hold of his own right foot with his left hand behind his head, and standing on one foot has placed a goat on the top of the pole. Another person has thrown a drum on his neck and is beating it, whilst another man is standing with his hands lifted up and looking at the rope-dancer. Five other men are also standing, of whom one has a stick in his hand. In the fourth compartment there is a tree, below which the figure of the revered (ḥaẓrat) Jesus is shown. One person has placed his head at Jesus’ feet, and an old man is conversing with Jesus and four others are standing by.9 As he had made such a masterpiece, I honoured him with a present and with increased salary.