A Polo Game: Page from a Kulliyyat (Collected Works) of Sa'di Safavid dynasty (1501–1722), 16th century, c. 1585

Curator: Oh, my word, this piece radiates energy! It's almost dizzying at first glance—all that motion packed into such a small space. Editor: It's an exquisite page, dating back to around 1585, from a Kulliyyat—that’s a collected works—of the poet Sa'di, created during the Safavid dynasty. The medium combines drawing and painting with watercolours on paper, depicting a polo game. It now resides here at the Art Institute of Chicago. Curator: Polo! That explains the flurry of figures on horseback. It feels almost dreamlike, the way they’re layered against that decorative, almost otherworldly backdrop. And what’s the feel between the movement and the more decorative elements, I wonder? Editor: Consider the horse itself, throughout different periods in history, always a potent symbol of power, status, and nobility—evident even here. Polo was also favored by royalty, wasn't it? Look how that tradition weaves through the composition. Curator: Definitely seeing the connection to power and nobility. There is that incredible balance—it's delicate, but strong. Like looking through a jeweled window into a lively party you know you should never enter. Editor: And consider the book's significance; Sa'di's verses celebrated worldly wisdom. Combining this with an aristocratic game suggests a celebration of cultured life and courtly virtues. Notice how the colour palette accentuates this sense of elevated play and sophistication. Curator: Exactly, like the manuscript as a whole is a carefully crafted little world. What do you reckon the people making this kind of piece thought about as they worked on it, day after day? I imagine it almost becomes another version of your lived reality… Editor: Perhaps they recognized that symbols shift. Images, then and now, speak volumes, often unconsciously. What seems a simple polo game, when captured so meticulously, can become an embodiment of aspiration and cultural memory. Curator: So well said. And somehow the magic of seeing art centuries later, just to feel this quick connection of people making meaning, is deeply powerful, isn't it? Editor: Indeed. A beautiful convergence of poetry, sport, and power—all rendered in delicate brushstrokes. It certainly gives us so much to consider, even today.