Chapter 10

(_From the right the sounds of a march with kettledrums and tambourines._ _First appears_ TRUFFALDINO, _shouldering his broadsword, at the head of his eunuchs_. _After them a troop of female slaves beating tambourines._ _Then, thickly veiled, the two favourite slaves of the_ PRINCESS--_the one_, ADELMA, _in rich Tartar costume; the other_, ZELIMA, _in more simple Chinese dress_. _The latter carries a little dish, which contains sealed leaves with the solutions of the riddles._ TRUFFALDINO _and the eunuchs march past the_ EMPEROR'S _throne, cast themselves face downwards on the earth, and rise again_. _The female slaves kneel, and lift their hands to their foreheads._ _Last appears_ TURANDOT _in gorgeous Chinese costume, veiled, and with a haughty attitude of challenge_. _The eight doctors and the two ministers cast themselves down before her, touching the floor with their brows._ ALTOUM _rises_. TURANDOT _raises her hand to her forehead and greets her father with a solemn bow, then ascends her throne and sits down_. ZELIMA _stands at her right_, ADELMA _at her left_. CALAF, _who had bowed when the_ PRINCESS _entered, now stands erect, sunk in admiration of her beauty_. TRUFFALDINO, _after performing various ceremonies in his comic way, takes the dish with the sealed leaves out of_ ZELIMA'S _hand; he distributes these among the doctors, and then, with various ceremonies and obeisances, withdraws to his place_. _Music plays until_ TRUFFALDINO _leaves the Divan_. _Then deep silence ensues._)