Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D , Case SCX, Shelf 8

The Bride of the Kuzzelbash Kabul

Watercolour
1836 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This beautiful young woman was the bride of Murtaza Khan, the head of a family of the Qizilbash tribe, who met Vigne near Ghazni and accompanied him to Kabul. [See the portrait of Murtaza Khan, SD.1118.] The pair of drawings are two of a large group of Persian, Afghan and Indian portraits and landscapes (now mainly in the Searight Collection, the India Office Library and the Royal Geographical Society) that were done by Vigne during his long journey, between 1832 and 1839, through Turkey and Persia to India, and thence northwards to the Western Himalayas and later Afghanistan. Vigne published an account of his Afghanistan trip in A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, and Afghanistan (1840). A further visit made by Vigne to the Near East in 1843-44 is also represented by drawings in the Searight Collection.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Bride of the Kuzzelbash Kabul (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, pen and ink, and watercolour
Brief description
Watercolour, `The Bride of the Kuzzelbash Kabul', 1836, by Godfrey Thomas Vigne FRGS
Physical description
Watercolour drawing
Dimensions
  • Height: 25.8cm
  • Width: 20.1cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed with title and number 48, and Kabul or Afghan
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Shell International and the Friends of the V&A
Object history
According to Rodney Searight: - `acquired from Henry D'Olier Vigne, great-nephew of the artist, May 1971, £200'. [with SD.1087- SD.1100, SD.1103 & 1104: SD.1105-1116, SD.1118-SD.1125, SD.1127-1130, SD.1132-1134, SD.1137-1138, SD.1150, SD.1153]
Historical context
See Vigne, A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, And Afghanistan ..., 1840. Cf. sketches in album in India Office Library and Records (WD.3110 f.39f, 40a-d).
Subjects depicted
Places depicted
Summary
This beautiful young woman was the bride of Murtaza Khan, the head of a family of the Qizilbash tribe, who met Vigne near Ghazni and accompanied him to Kabul. [See the portrait of Murtaza Khan, SD.1118.] The pair of drawings are two of a large group of Persian, Afghan and Indian portraits and landscapes (now mainly in the Searight Collection, the India Office Library and the Royal Geographical Society) that were done by Vigne during his long journey, between 1832 and 1839, through Turkey and Persia to India, and thence northwards to the Western Himalayas and later Afghanistan. Vigne published an account of his Afghanistan trip in A Personal Narrative of a Visit to Ghuzni, Kabul, and Afghanistan (1840). A further visit made by Vigne to the Near East in 1843-44 is also represented by drawings in the Searight Collection.
Collection
Accession number
SD.1117

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdApril 21, 2008
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest