Above, the emperor Aurangzeb consults a physician; below, one of the emperor's sons is attended by physicians. Gouache painting, 17--.

An episode in an 18th-century romance. There is a set of pictures of it in a Persian manuscript in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. Above, the emperor Aurangzeb with a haqim. He is worried about his son, the prince, who is shown below surrounded by doctors. One of the doctors (lower left) is recommending a particular ointment, one is quoting the authority of some eminent medical book, another us taking the prince's pulse. On the right is the wasir. The reason for the presence of the doctors is the emperor's concern at the prince's love for Malikeh mulk, a kind of fairy princess (information kindly given by Mr Robert Skelton, 22 April 1986)