Fly-infested feast

Brush drawing with colour on paper.

In this strange scene, a prince and his retinue are entertained by Brahmin priests to a communal meal in a fly-infested refectory. Beneath a shelter the head priest, his acolyte and the prince eat off silver trays, while the rest have leaf plates. Everywhere the air is thick with flies, but priests and courtiers eat on regardless. Some satire may be intended on the venality of the priestly class and on the prince’s efforts to court them.

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