Clues

There is also a textual clue, in the epigraphy around the porch in the center of the painting. In the cartouches with white letters on a blue background two verses of Jami’s _Yusuf-u Zulaykha_can be read, in reference to the stunning beauty of the palace and its ideal quality as a safe haven for lovers, far away from the prying eyes of the moral police:

If a spectator would pass there
His mouth would water in strong desire

There was no one there but lover and beloved
No harm from policeman or trouble from the night-watch

A third verse can be found in golden script on a dark blue band, decorated with red floral elements. It reads like a description of the palace:

The pleasure of its reclining spaces like the morning of fortune
The spaciousness of its rooms like the treasure of hope