Trompettes, Pages, Esclaves, et Vases que l'on portait pour présent à Mahomet, from Caravanne du Sultan à la Mecque 1748

"Trompettes, Pages, Esclaves, et Vases que l'on portait pour présent à Mahomet," a 1748 etching by Joseph Marie Vien, depicts a procession of figures carrying gifts to the Prophet Muhammad. The intricate detail of the figures' clothing and the ornate vases is rendered in precise, fine lines, characteristic of Vien's style. This etching is part of a larger series, "Caravanne du Sultan à la Mecque," which explores the journey of a Sultan to Mecca. The image offers a glimpse into the richness of 18th-century European fascination with the exotic and the imagined customs of the East.