inauspicious enthronement 37
with an oiled lasso.^54 A miniature painting from the period depicts a stern-
looking executioner, without a cloak or overcoat, sleeves rolled up, the coil of
oiled rope in his right hand, the tip of the rope in his left, an oversized ex-
ecutioner’s sword tucked into his sash as he moves off the page, presumably
toward his victim.^55