Description:

A PORTRAIT OF A FEMALE YOUTH, 19TH CENTURY, QAJAR
Persia, 19th century

Description:
Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper; a finely composed portrait of a youthful figure in feminine attire, delicately poised and barefoot, standing in a soft natural setting. The sitter wears a tall, feathered magenta cap and is draped in flowing white garments with a sash of pale blue, evoking both modesty and grace. Her gaze is gentle and downward, enhancing the sense of introspective elegance. Faint vegetal motifs form the backdrop, harmonising with the refined palette. The folio is bordered with green and lavender marbling, inner gold rulings, and framed in a deep indigo mount.

Dimensions:
35 x 24cm

Comparable examples:

  • Sotheby’s, London, Arts of the Islamic World, 26 April 2023, Lot 108, Qajar miniature of a youthful female courtier, £5,670 

  • Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art, 25 October 2022, Lot 87, Persian portrait of a noble girl, 19th century, £4,950 

  • Christie’s, London, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 27 October 2022, Lot 118, Qajar-era figure study of a woman in stylised garb, £6,930 

Note:
Qajar artists often blurred the visual codes of gender in portraiture, capturing an androgynous beauty ideal that reflected broader cultural and poetic themes of the time. Figures like this one, often featured in muraqqa‘ albums, conveyed refinement, introspection, and romantic allure—hallmarks of Persianate courtly aesthetics in the 19th century

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

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