Hennaed angel... 1550, Turkish
Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on August 26, 1999 at 16:21:12:
There is a type of celestial creature in Islam known as "Peri".
These are winged, crowned, beautiful female angels who are consorts of
the blessed. There is one Peri in the Freer gallery in Washington DC,
Turkisth, done by Sahkulu, in 1550. She is holding a bottle and glass
of wine (?), floating in the air, perfectly attired and wings neatly
groomed. She has all the characteristics of a great beauty...dark
eyebrows, big eyes, long dark hair, a small bosom and wide hips and
thighs. She also has the most delicately ornate and perfectly dark
henna on hands and feet that anyone could imagine ...the same dainty
flower work you see in the borders of Korans of that period.
A peri does not have an arranged marriage to you in the afterlife,
peris only join with you for love, and therefore all relationships
with peris are perfect and blissful. (According to Islamic
tradition).
In any case, they have superb henna artists in Muslim heaven, and
really good quality henna!