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Secondary sourcePaintingc. 1500-1532

Reception of the Polos by the Khan at Bukhara

Anonymous · c. 1500-1532

A manuscript miniature from around 1500-1532 showing the Polo brothers received by the Khan, from a French translation of Marco Polo's book.

This miniature illustrates a scene from Marco Polo's account of his family's reception by the Khan.

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Illuminated manuscript miniature in a gold-framed border: a bearded man in a tall hat and blue and red robes receives two men in blue robes and a shorter companion, one holding a shallow dish. A ship with sails and a figure on deck rests at a stone quay on the right, beside a small figure in a red cap. Caption text in red below the picture, with black-letter French text beneath.
Reception of the Polos by the Khan at Bukhara, miniature illustrating Robert Frescher's translation of Marco Polo's book, c. 1500-1532.

About this source

What it is

This illuminated miniature, made between about 1500 and 1532, illustrates a French translation of Marco Polo's travel account by Robert Frescher. It shows a bearded ruler receiving the Polo brothers, with a ship and quay in the background.

Why it matters

Made centuries after Polo's own journeys, the miniature shows how his writings continued to be translated, copied, and illustrated for European audiences long after his death. It reflects the lasting fascination with his travels and the way artists imagined scenes of distant lands and courts they had never visited.

Look closer

  • What details suggest the artist was imagining a foreign court rather than depicting a real place?
  • Why do you think a ship appears in the scene, even though this meeting is described as happening inland?
  • What does the care taken in illustrating this manuscript tell us about the popularity of Polo's book?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Marco Polo on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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