Scene of Feasting from Sultan Murad III's "Siyer-I Nebi" or "Life of the Prophet"

The Siyer-i Nebi (Life of the Prophet), the manuscript to which this folio originally belonged, is a religious epic narrating the genealogy, life, and death of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. First composed in the late 14th century, by a writer named Darir, the text was later produced in a lavishly illustrated copy under the auspices of the Ottoman Sultan Murad III in the late 16th century.

The project was supervised by renowned Turkish calligrapher Lutfi Abdullah and was a major undertaking that resulted in a six-volume production accompanied by more than 800 illustrations. Volumes 1, 2, and 6 are still in the Topkapi Museum Library in Istanbul. Volumes 3 and 4 are, respectively, in the New York Public Library and the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, Ireland. The location of volume 5 remains unknown.