Panoramic view of the city of Cadow and surroundings

Done by master Urashi Vidasamaru from the city of Nibadapta, in the 4th month of the 11th year of our glorious sovereign, the Lord of All below Heavens, the King of Kings, Arsakes IX (342 AP).

— Inscription at the backside of the painting

Origins of the painting

This beautiful painting was commissioned by a powerful bureaucrat of the Seris Empire during the Sittakid Dynasty called Arjuna Uttaru, who was at that time a powerful figure in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and also judge of the 7th district of the capital, Sakuramish. He wanted something in his office at his house in the capital to remind him of his beloved hometown, the old and famous city of Cadow in North-Western Seria; and also to show its wealth to the visitors of the house, so he commissioned the renown painter Urashi Vidasamaru to accompany him on his summer vacations so that the painter could see the city and its surrounding landscapes. Urashi draw many sketches of the views of the city from different places, specially from the nearby hills, and also of the architecture of the city as well as other places nearby, like the gardens and the artificial lake at Arjuna's villa near the city.
In 3 months Urashi presented Arjuna two beautiful paintings, one was a panorama of the city from the Eastern Gate and the other was an scene inspired by nature, it represented two herons drinking at Urashi's villa's artificial lake, surrounded by different plants. Both were considered by all who saw them as truly masterpieces. Arjuna placed the panorama of the city at his home office, while the scene with the herons was placed at the wall of the dinning room facing the courtyard. During the following centuries, some artists made some copies of them, but the original was kept at the Uttaru house at Sakouramish until the end of the Sittakid Dynasty, when the Uttaru family sided with the last Sitakid Emperor, Andragoras III against the rebel general (and first emperor of the Yuttakid dynasty Yüttak Ygasmaru. The Uttaru house was sacked by the rebel troops and its collection of arts, including both paintings were lost... or at least that's what it was thought.

History

In reality, one of the soldiers, a Namru warrior called Aryaske was the one who stole the famous view of Cadow from the Uttaru house in 527 AP. In 591 AP his grandson, Mithradates served as a mercenary in the armies of the Kingdom of Brire, and later on was called by the Wesdalandians to help them against an incoming threat. In the course of the following decades he gained so much power over the region that he founded the Kingdom of Wesdaland. During his time as a mercenary, it is said that he always had this painting on his tent. As time went by, this painting was given as wedding gift to Mithradates, Johan, first duke of Ambras. This branch of the Royal family, the House of Ambras, was, the painting was the property of the dukes of Ambras until 671 AP when it was, again given as a wedding gift to Prince Togash, the son of Thorin III, who married Jeanne, the daughter of the current Duke of Ambras. This Togash was given the County of Tapuy, thus given birth to the House of Tapuy (another branch of the Mithradatic Dynasty in Wesdaland).
Its current head, and inheritor of this painting is Almaric of Tapuy, who is also the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Light. So, among its possessions as Count of Tapuy, and proud of having this famous painting, Almaric placed it in his bedroom at Telorion Castle, the homebase of the Order.

• Anne: Master, where do i put this scroll that was hanging up your...
• Almaric: CAREFUL ANNE!!, this thing is 500 years old!, its a masterpiece!!!, it has been in my family since the unification of Wesdaland!!.
• Anne: But I'm being caref...
• Almaric: No, no, no, Anne, my dear, I’ll take care of it, I’ve done that before, you just...throw these papers to the fire, please.

Description

This beautiful scene has been painted on a silk scroll, something that is very common in Seris painting. At the back it has the inscription giving the name of the author and the date in the Seris calendar (which counts the year, not since the appearance of the Prophet but the reigns of the current monarchs or the years since the beginning of the Dynasty). On the upper left side of the picture, there are three seals, one, of the author, another of the Uttaru family and the last in the seal of Mithradates I himself. These seals represent the ownership of the picture across the centuries.
Now, the painting itself, its superbly well made. In the centre you can see the Eastern Gate, from which travellers and merchants from the capital entered the city. There are farmers, bureaucrats and noblemen entering the gate (custodied by soldiers dressed in the fashion of the time it was painted). Both the bureaucrats and the noblemen enter the city in carriages or mounted in horses while the peasants go on foot. There is a little river and a bridge between the city walls and its surroundings. On the left side of the painting there is a little street view where you can see merchants selling their products, a tavern, possibly two scholars debated in the upper floor of the tavern, and two dancers.
The upper part of the buildings is covered sometimes by golden clouds, the same colour as the sky im the painting.The background of the image , and its most striking feature are the beautifully drawn tall and green mountains that are typical of the surroundings of the city of Cadow. In fact, these mountains were called at a time "Cadow’s second layer of walls). Most of the roofs of the houses are made of blue roofing tiles while the roof of the Eastern gate is made of golden roofing tiles. Most descriptions of the image said that a poem was written at the bottom right part of the painting, some traces of letters survived, but it is impossible to read it nowadays.

Creation Date

342 AP

Related ethnicities

• The seris

The Mystery of the other Painting

The painting depicting the two herons drinking was lost in 527 AP, and has never been found again. Some early known copies of it survives, one was done 20 years after the original was made, and today it is founded at the house of the Kadearu clan, its current owner is Yuya's cousin, Togash. The other, painted a century later, had a more turbulent story. The painting, among other objects was given as a diplomatic gift to the king of Adhel in 567 AP. In 654 AP Adhel was at war with the Republic of Valia. Valian troops sacked the Adhelian capital and the painting was part of the triumphal parade of the Consul Mummius the next year. This copy was then displayed at the Art Gallery near the Senate house in Valia. Where it can be seen today.