‘The travels of Sig. Pietro della Valle, a noble Roman, into East-India and Arabia Deserta. In which, the several countries, together with the customs, manners, traffique, and rites both religious and civil, of those Oriental princes and nations, are faithfully described: In familiar letters to his friend Signior Mario Schipano. Whereunto is added a relation of Sir Thomas Roe’s voyage into the East-Indies’ [‎377] (398/508)

i
A Voyage to E A S T-1 N 13.1 A,
377
well. Thcfe BarbcrS;,. as they walk up and down, often prcfent
thefe Glaflcs unto men whom they find fitting ftill, which is a
tender of their Service if they fliail pleafe to make ufe of them.
The people there often wafh their Bodies, and keep their Feet
as clean and as fweet as their Hands. The better fortannoint
themfelves very much with fweet oyls 3 which makes their com
pany (as before I obferved) very favory.
The Natives there (of which there is fomthing before in my
third Settion) (hew very much ingenuity in their curious Manu-
failures 5 as in their Silk-fluffs which they moft artificially weave,
fome of them very neatly mingled either with Silver or Gold, or
both. As alfo in making excellent Quilts of their ftained cloth,
or of frefh coloured Taffeta lined with their Pintadoet, or of
their Sattin lined with Taffata, betwixt which they put Gotten-
wooll, and work them together with Silk. Thofe Taffata,-or
Sattin-quilts, are excellently ftitched by them, being done as
evenly, and in as good order, as if they had been drawn out to
them, for their diredion , the better to work them. They
make likewife excellent Carpetts of their Cotton-wooll, in fine
mingled colours, fome of them more than three yards broad,
and of a great length. Some other richer Carpets they make all
of Silk, fo artificially mixed, as that they liyelily reprefent thofe
flowers, and figures made in them. The ground of fome other
of theirMich Carpets is Silver or Gold, about which are fuch
filken flowers, and figures (as before T named) moft excellently
and orderly difpofed throughout the whole work.
Their skill is likewife exquifite in making of Cabinets, or
Boxes, or Trunks, or Standifhes, curioudy wrought, within,
and without 3 inlaid with Elephants tooth, or Mother of Pearl,
or Ebony, or Tortoyfe-fhell, or Wyre 5 they make excellent
Cups, and other things of Agate, and Cornelian 5 and curious
they are in cutting all manner of ftones. Diamonds as well as
others. ^
They paint Staves, or Bed-fteads, or Chefts of Boxes, or
Fruit-difhes, or large Chargers ,extream neatly^which^when they
be not inlaid (as before) they cover the wood (firft being hand-
lomly turn'd) with a thick Gum, then put their Paint on, moft
artificially made of liquid (ilver, or gold,or other lively colours,
which they ufe 3 and after make it much more beautiful with a
very clear varnifh put upon it.
They are excellent at Limning, and will coppy out any Pi-
dure they fee to the life.* for confirmation of which take this
inftance 5 It happened that my Lord Embafladour vifiting the
Mogol on a time, as he 'did often, prefented him with a curi
ous neat fmall oval Pidure dope to the life in England, The
Mogol was much pleafed with it, but told the Embafladour with-
all, that haply he fuppofed that there- was never a one in his
Country that could do fo well in that curious Art 3 and then of
fered to^wager with him a Leek of Roopees ( a furn which
C c c amounted