Dancing Girl with Castanets

Outlined against the bright blue sky visible through the window, a raven-haired beauty dances to the accompaniment of castanets. We can compare her image with that of the marvellous Layla in the poem by the 12th-century Iranian poet Nizami: "Embellished like a doll, slender as a cypress tree, beauteous as the moon..." She wears a complex dress composed of a long-sleeved shirt, over which is a brown velvet jacket, tied at the waist with a broad belt. Her broad trousers are stitched with a geometrical ornament of pearls and emeralds. On her head is a small headdress tipped coquettishly to one side as was the fashion and fastened with a string of pearls tied beneath the chin. The tilt of the head, the gesture of the hands, the flying ends of the scarf and the widely placed bare feet emphasize the movement of the court dancer.