Description:

AN ILLUMINATED SAFAVID MINIATURE, EARLY 16TH CENTURY, PERSIA
Persia, early 16th century

Description:
Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper; this vivid Safavid miniature depicts a youthful figure seated on a rocky outcrop beneath a verdant chenar tree, surrounded by a lively menagerie of animals including goats, deer, birds, and rabbits. A second figure, possibly a companion or attendant, stands nearby in a vertically striped robe and red boots, gazing toward the central figure with an air of reverence or conversation.

The composition is rich in symbolic naturalism: animals are rendered with keen observation, and their placement around the stream and rocks suggests a narrative scene, possibly allegorical. The central seated figure, with flowing golden hair and courtly attire in cobalt blue and crimson, is suggestive of a princely or mythic persona, potentially linked to Persian literary figures such as Majnun or Shirin. The tree, rendered with lush foliage and curling branches, anchors the verticality of the composition.

The background is painted in soft ochre and gold cloud bands, populated by birds, and set within a peachy border finely adorned with delicate vegetal motifs in gold wash—a hallmark of Safavid album (muraqqaʿ) aesthetics.

Dimensions: approx. 23.5 x 15 cm (folio); miniature: 16.5 x 9.5 cm

The high degree of anatomical precision in the animals and the stylized yet expressive landscape are characteristic of early Safavid work, blending Herati naturalism with Tabrizi lyricism.

Comparable examples:

  • A Safavid miniature from a Majnun in the Wilderness scene, likely from a copy of Nizami’s Khamsa, attributed to Tabriz, circa 1525, sold at Christie’s, London, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 6 October 2011, Lot 86, for £62,450.

  • An illustration of Yusuf and Zulaikha in a garden with animals, Safavid Persia, c. 1530, sold at Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art, 27 April 2004, Lot 122, for £31,070.

  • A Safavid painting of Shirin watching Farhad, attributed to Shiraz, circa 1510–1520, sold at Sotheby’s, London, Arts of the Islamic World, 9 October 2013, Lot 43, for £54,500.

Note:
This enchanting miniature likely derives from an illustrated manuscript or album leaf focusing on romantic, mystical, or philosophical tales central to Persian literature. The presence of so many animals, especially in attentive or admiring poses, hints at themes of divine beauty, asceticism, or courtly solitude. The work shows influence from the Herat school, fused with the distinctive early Safavid elegance that defined Persian manuscript production in the first half of the 16th century.

 

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May 6, 2025 1:00 PM BST
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