Woman Playing a daf
Oil Painting
1800-1830 (made)
1800-1830 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The painting may well have been removed from a palace erected during the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah, who ruled Iran between 1797 and 1834. His residences were often decorated with series of oil paintings in this style, which were built into the walls. The individual paintings are usually portraits of a single, large human figure. The shapes of the figures are flattened out, but there is a great deal of decorative detail.
Many of the series painted for Fath 'Ali Shah show imaginary portraits of members of a royal harem. In this case, a woman is shown seated on the ground in the Iranian manner, playing a drum.
Painting in oils was introduced to Iran after 1600, when the country had strong commercial links with Europe. Production shrank during the troubled period after the Afghan invasion of Iran in 1722. It burst back into life under the Qajar dynasty, who re-united the country in the 1780s and 1790s. Fath 'Ali Shah was the second ruler of this dynasty, and his patronage led to this revival of oil painting.
Many of the series painted for Fath 'Ali Shah show imaginary portraits of members of a royal harem. In this case, a woman is shown seated on the ground in the Iranian manner, playing a drum.
Painting in oils was introduced to Iran after 1600, when the country had strong commercial links with Europe. Production shrank during the troubled period after the Afghan invasion of Iran in 1722. It burst back into life under the Qajar dynasty, who re-united the country in the 1780s and 1790s. Fath 'Ali Shah was the second ruler of this dynasty, and his patronage led to this revival of oil painting.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Woman Playing a daf (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Oil on calico |
| Brief description | Imaginary portrait of a woman playing a daf, in the style current under the Qajar ruler Fath 'Ali Shah (1797-1834). |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Sir Charles Murray Marling G.C.M.G., C.B. |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Sir Charles Murray Marling G.C.M.G., C.B., 1933 |
| Historical context | "When a new dynasty, the Qajars, emerged at the end of the eighteenth century, portraits in oils began to assume a highly political function. The founder of the dynasty, Agha Muhammad (died 1797), had been castrated as youth by his father's enemies, and his successor, Fath 'Ali Shah (ruled 1797-1834), was keen to emphasize his masculinity. As a way of doing this, he commissioned numerous portraits of himself that showed him as slim-waisted, youthful and heavily bearded. Some were sent abroad as diplomatic gifts, and many were placed in his palaces, where they were flanked by paintings showing either an enormous entourage, including many of his sons and grandsons, or harem women engaged in the entertainment of their lord." Tim Stanley, Palace and Mosque, p. 72 |
| Summary | The painting may well have been removed from a palace erected during the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah, who ruled Iran between 1797 and 1834. His residences were often decorated with series of oil paintings in this style, which were built into the walls. The individual paintings are usually portraits of a single, large human figure. The shapes of the figures are flattened out, but there is a great deal of decorative detail. Many of the series painted for Fath 'Ali Shah show imaginary portraits of members of a royal harem. In this case, a woman is shown seated on the ground in the Iranian manner, playing a drum. Painting in oils was introduced to Iran after 1600, when the country had strong commercial links with Europe. Production shrank during the troubled period after the Afghan invasion of Iran in 1722. It burst back into life under the Qajar dynasty, who re-united the country in the 1780s and 1790s. Fath 'Ali Shah was the second ruler of this dynasty, and his patronage led to this revival of oil painting. |
| Bibliographic reference | Jenny Housego, "18th Century Persian Carpets: Continuity and Change", in Pinner and Denny (eds.), Oriental Carpet and Textile Studies 3/1 (1987) pp.40-46: fig.12. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | P.22-1933 |
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| Record created | April 2, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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