King Solomon and the spider

Illustrated folio from the Anvar-i Suhaili.
Text in nasta'liq above and below the painting representing King Solomon, seated on a throne, surrounded by courtiers and speaking to a spider, hanging from his spiderweb.

Qajar art, circa 1840

Provenance:
Ex French collection, before 2000

Notes:
The Anvar-i Suhaili (Lights of Canopus) is a Persian version of Kalila wa Dimna, an Arabic translation of a Hindu text written in Sanskrit called the Fables of Bidpaiï.