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Lot Essay
This magnificent painting by Reza ‘Abbasi (ca.1565–1635), regarded as the most innovative and influential later Safavid artist, is one of his finest single page portraits to appear in auction. This painting illustrates Reza’s keen sense of colouristic nuance, his continuing ability to express the tactile qualities of fur, hair and cloth, and his success at mirroring the splendour of the Iranian court and society as a whole at the end of Shah ‘Abbas I’s life (Canby, 1996, pp.151-164).
In this painting, the subtlety of Reza’s brushwork is particularly evident in his depiction of the fur hat, the fur-lined coat and the youth’s face. The harmony of his bold palette, along with the dynamic background elements epitomise the work that Reza’s followers loved to copy. The facial features of our model with his round face, delicate red lips, perfectly defined arched eyebrows and the use of extremely subtle brushwork for the shading of the nose bear close resemblance to a portrait by Reza, known as The Lovers, dated 1630 in the Metropolitan Museum (inv.no.50.164, published, London, 1931, no.695).
Our painting characterises Reza’s use of richly layered and decorated textiles to bring life to a static scene, as evident from the use of the gentle drapery of the fur lined jacket on the youth’s thigh. Fabrics illustrated with human and animal figures appear in Reza’s paintings from 1600 onwards as cushion coverings rather than entire robes. However, there are a small number of known portraits in which Reza has made an exception. The pattern illustrated on the cushion of our painting, of a bird in flight swooping down on a perching bird is almost identical to the pattern Reza has depicted on the trousers of Page with Gold Trousers in the Chester Beatty Library (inv. no.2602; published Canby, 1996, p.157, cat.115). Although Reza’s paintings are an extremely useful source for studying the fashion of the time, no Safavid textiles with precisely the same pattern are known to exist, suggesting that Reza could have created it from his own inspirations of previous artists works, for instance the Bihzadian pattern of two birds appearing in conversation (Canby, 1996, p.151). Our seated youth, who appears to be longing and deep in thought is set against a background which is illuminated using rust and gold to produce a luscious harmony of a billowing tree which echoes the curve of his body.
One of Reza's most unique practices which was followed by his student Mu’in Mussavir was the use of lengthy and often descriptive signatures on his paintings. The inscription of our painting provides us with the name of the patron for whom it was created, Mirza Muhammad Shafi’. In the inscription Mirza Muhammad Shafi‘ is described as khuddam-i natijatu’l-vuzara’i, translated here as “one in service to an offspring of viziers”. As with other epithets that Reza attributes to the recipients of his single-sheet works, the painter seems to have taken pleasure in inventing complex titulature for his friends in mocking imitation of court practice.
Our painting is a pendant to a painting called Woman Counting on her Fingers in the Bibliothèque Nationale (MSS.Suppl.Pers.1572, folio 5; published Canby, 1996, p.160, cat. 119). Described by Sheila as a work which illustrates Reza’s most interesting and original traits, it also bears an inscription which has been deliberately defaced. However, from what has been deciphered, the content is almost identical to the inscription on our painting. The name of the patron given is also Mirza Muhammad Shafi’. Blochet has suggested that this painting is of the Safavid vizier Mirza Muhammad Shafi’s wife, who was active in the court of Shah ‘Abbas I (Blochet, 1929, pl.clvii). However, as argued by Canby, this is unlikely since we know from contemporaneous Safavid chronicles that Mirza Shafi’ died in 1609-10, about twenty years before Reza developed this particular style of portraiture. Nevertheless, the fact that these two paintings are a pair made for a wealthy patron is unquestionable. Their size, the harmonious curve of the seated figures towards one another, and that of the billowing trees and clouds on the backgrounds, create a perfect match, portraying a longing couple.
Reza, who was highly respected for his ability to capture his sitter’s features in the most realistic manner has a number of other known works with inscriptions that help us identify the particular patron. A noteworthy example is Reza’s portrait of Nashmi Kamandar, housed in the Harvard Art Museum (inv.no.1960.197). Our painting is not only significant because of its documentary value, but also for its precision of execution which demonstrates Reza’s magical ability to capture his sitter emotions, and also his playful nature with his particular use of words to describe his subjects and ridicule the Safavid court.
A Safavid portrait of Reza by his most celebrated student, Mu’in Musavvir, recently sold Christie’s, New York, 10 May 2018, lot 1001.
In this painting, the subtlety of Reza’s brushwork is particularly evident in his depiction of the fur hat, the fur-lined coat and the youth’s face. The harmony of his bold palette, along with the dynamic background elements epitomise the work that Reza’s followers loved to copy. The facial features of our model with his round face, delicate red lips, perfectly defined arched eyebrows and the use of extremely subtle brushwork for the shading of the nose bear close resemblance to a portrait by Reza, known as The Lovers, dated 1630 in the Metropolitan Museum (inv.no.50.164, published, London, 1931, no.695).
Our painting characterises Reza’s use of richly layered and decorated textiles to bring life to a static scene, as evident from the use of the gentle drapery of the fur lined jacket on the youth’s thigh. Fabrics illustrated with human and animal figures appear in Reza’s paintings from 1600 onwards as cushion coverings rather than entire robes. However, there are a small number of known portraits in which Reza has made an exception. The pattern illustrated on the cushion of our painting, of a bird in flight swooping down on a perching bird is almost identical to the pattern Reza has depicted on the trousers of Page with Gold Trousers in the Chester Beatty Library (inv. no.2602; published Canby, 1996, p.157, cat.115). Although Reza’s paintings are an extremely useful source for studying the fashion of the time, no Safavid textiles with precisely the same pattern are known to exist, suggesting that Reza could have created it from his own inspirations of previous artists works, for instance the Bihzadian pattern of two birds appearing in conversation (Canby, 1996, p.151). Our seated youth, who appears to be longing and deep in thought is set against a background which is illuminated using rust and gold to produce a luscious harmony of a billowing tree which echoes the curve of his body.
One of Reza's most unique practices which was followed by his student Mu’in Mussavir was the use of lengthy and often descriptive signatures on his paintings. The inscription of our painting provides us with the name of the patron for whom it was created, Mirza Muhammad Shafi’. In the inscription Mirza Muhammad Shafi‘ is described as khuddam-i natijatu’l-vuzara’i, translated here as “one in service to an offspring of viziers”. As with other epithets that Reza attributes to the recipients of his single-sheet works, the painter seems to have taken pleasure in inventing complex titulature for his friends in mocking imitation of court practice.
Our painting is a pendant to a painting called Woman Counting on her Fingers in the Bibliothèque Nationale (MSS.Suppl.Pers.1572, folio 5; published Canby, 1996, p.160, cat. 119). Described by Sheila as a work which illustrates Reza’s most interesting and original traits, it also bears an inscription which has been deliberately defaced. However, from what has been deciphered, the content is almost identical to the inscription on our painting. The name of the patron given is also Mirza Muhammad Shafi’. Blochet has suggested that this painting is of the Safavid vizier Mirza Muhammad Shafi’s wife, who was active in the court of Shah ‘Abbas I (Blochet, 1929, pl.clvii). However, as argued by Canby, this is unlikely since we know from contemporaneous Safavid chronicles that Mirza Shafi’ died in 1609-10, about twenty years before Reza developed this particular style of portraiture. Nevertheless, the fact that these two paintings are a pair made for a wealthy patron is unquestionable. Their size, the harmonious curve of the seated figures towards one another, and that of the billowing trees and clouds on the backgrounds, create a perfect match, portraying a longing couple.
Reza, who was highly respected for his ability to capture his sitter’s features in the most realistic manner has a number of other known works with inscriptions that help us identify the particular patron. A noteworthy example is Reza’s portrait of Nashmi Kamandar, housed in the Harvard Art Museum (inv.no.1960.197). Our painting is not only significant because of its documentary value, but also for its precision of execution which demonstrates Reza’s magical ability to capture his sitter emotions, and also his playful nature with his particular use of words to describe his subjects and ridicule the Safavid court.
A Safavid portrait of Reza by his most celebrated student, Mu’in Musavvir, recently sold Christie’s, New York, 10 May 2018, lot 1001.