FOLLOWER OF SHAYKH 'ABBASI, SAFAVID IRAN, THIRD QUARTER 17TH CENTURY

This painting is closely comparable to the work of the artist Shaykh ‘Abbasi whose dated works show him as active during the reigns of Shah ‘Abbas II and Shah Sulayman. His style is characterised by the use of pointillism for shading and creating volume in figures, but also by his choice of subjects. There is no evidence that he worked in India yet he is the artist most often associated with the blending of Indian and Persian painting and he frequently chose Indian men and women as his subjects. A similar portrait signed by Shaykh ‘Abbasi sold in these Rooms, 23 October 2007, lot 168.

Other examples of Shaykh 'Abbasi's work are in the Art and History Trust Collection (Abolala Soudavar, Art of the Persian Courts, New York, 1992, nos.146, 147, pp.367-8), the Musée Guimet, Paris, 7166 (Mark Zebrowski, Deccani Painting, London, 1983, p.197) and in the collection of the late Edwin Binney III, (Islamic art from the collection of Edwin Binney III, Washington, 1966, no.53).