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Lot Essay
This charming painting of a teasing dancing girl is typical of Qajar tastes. During the Qajar period royal portraits and illustrations of court performers were the two main themes of monumental painting. Falk describes these girls as "the other main subject," even though their purpose was mostly ornamental, providing colourful and entertaining images with which to decorate architectural features. Beyond their ornate quality such paintings were iconic imagery that mirrored a divided society. These entertainers and dancing girls were the only women available to the artists, reputable ladies of society were always concealed from sight behind thick swathes of fabric.
The type of jacket, and the diaphanous top with two pendant jewelled loops depicted in our painting is characteristic of those found on Fath `Ali Shah period paintings (see S.J. Falk, Qajar Paintings, London, 1972, pp.50-51, figs. 22 and 23, and two paintings at the National Art Museum of Georgia, inv.nos. OD 926 and OD 924). The care with which the skirt has been depicted, and the intensity of the painting of the cloth is also reminiscent of the sash illustrated on a portrait of 'Abbas Mirza, (sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2004, lot 112), which is very much a continuation of the late Zand and early Qajar painting of Sadeq (Ibid., p. 15, fig. 5 and p. 26-27 fig. 7). Recent examples of paintings of dancing Qajar girls at auction include three sold in these Rooms, 28 October 2020, lots 54-56.
The type of jacket, and the diaphanous top with two pendant jewelled loops depicted in our painting is characteristic of those found on Fath `Ali Shah period paintings (see S.J. Falk, Qajar Paintings, London, 1972, pp.50-51, figs. 22 and 23, and two paintings at the National Art Museum of Georgia, inv.nos. OD 926 and OD 924). The care with which the skirt has been depicted, and the intensity of the painting of the cloth is also reminiscent of the sash illustrated on a portrait of 'Abbas Mirza, (sold in these Rooms, 27 April 2004, lot 112), which is very much a continuation of the late Zand and early Qajar painting of Sadeq (Ibid., p. 15, fig. 5 and p. 26-27 fig. 7). Recent examples of paintings of dancing Qajar girls at auction include three sold in these Rooms, 28 October 2020, lots 54-56.