Opaque watercolour, ink, gold and silver on paper
Herat, Afghanistan, 1523-24
Artist: Shaykhzada
A common symbol for the Sufi search for divine knowledge was wine, which with its properties of loosening one's hold on reality, helped the mystic to achieve a state bordering on spiritial ecstasy. Since the orthodox tenets of Islam forbade wine-drinking, it often occurred in remote wineshops, run by certain non-Muslims generally known as Magians.
Here the wineshop is represented as an elegant place, with women and children peering down from the upper windows and balconies. On the outdoor terrace edged with flowering trees, an old man or pir, who is both the tavern-keeper and a religious elder, greets the guests. One young man already seems overcome by the wine, whose real and symbolic effects are aptly described in the white inscription over the portal: "O Opener of Doors!"