This week’s favorite find is an art find and ironically it’s one that I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing in person.

Nevertheless, it’s a work that I absolutely adore. (For a while, if you caught a glimpse of my phone’s lock screen, you would’ve found this as the wallpaper).

The subject of the work is the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. The story exists in Christian and Islamic tradition regarding a group of young men who hid in a cave to escape religious persecution. After over 300 years of slumber, the young men miraculously awake and emerge from the cave.

This illustration comes from a 16th century Falnama, or Book of Omens. I stumbled upon it while researching other Islamic manuscripts. I love all the little details and the contrasts of playful and sinister elements. For example, there’s something so innocent and pure about the way the youths are depicted sleeping. They’re a blissful huddle of bodies (complete with their four-legged friend/guardian) sheltered from elements and enemies. But just outside the cave, directly above the sleeping men, is Satan leading a search party. He is depicted with a snake emerging from his neck. Sinister indeed!

For more information on this manuscript, which comes from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection, you can view its catalog entry here. (Image from The Met Collection online).