Michele Scaroina (documented from 1759-1772) painted a series of canvases depicting oriental scenes around 1772. The works reflect how much eighteenth-century encyclopaedism had done to increase knowledge about the culture of the distant Arab orient, but more importantly how much could be imagined on the basis of reading the narrative. The Arab collection of stories "A Thousand and One Nights" is behind the works, which capture everyday scenes - chivalrous tournaments fought in the saddles of impetuous Berber horses, dignitaries seated on cushions in square tents - all against a background of oriental architecture displaying characteristic Moorish arches and onion-shaped domes.