Description:

A MUSICIAN IN PORTRAIT, 19TH CENTURY, QAJAR
Persia, 19th century

Description:
Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper; a graceful Qajar-era miniature of a youthful musician, standing with a long-necked lute (possibly a tar or setar) in hand. The figure, delicately posed with elegant fingers plucking the strings, wears a richly patterned robe with floral accents and a magenta cap adorned with a feather. She is set against a soft vegetal backdrop with stylised plants and rock formations, rendered in muted pastel tones. The folio is surrounded by multicoloured marbled paper, framed with alternating bands of gold, green, and pink.

Dimensions:
30 x 24.5cm

Comparable examples:

  • Sotheby’s, London, Arts of the Islamic World, 1 May 2019, Lot 46, Qajar miniature of a musician holding a lute, £5,250 

  • Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art, 25 October 2022, Lot 111, 19th-century Persian portrait of a female musician, £4,845 

  • Christie’s, London, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 27 April 2023, Lot 115, Persian musician in garden scene, Qajar school, £6,930 

Note:
Musical subjects in Qajar painting reflect the court’s patronage of the arts and the integration of poetic, musical, and visual traditions. Miniatures such as this were likely part of muraqqa‘ albums assembled for elite connoisseurs, celebrating both cultural refinement and the lyrical world of performance and love. The musician's posture and serene expression reflect the meditative harmony attributed to music in Persian art and literature.

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
London, United Kingdom

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