Lot 77: A TRIO OF QAJAR PERSIAN MINIATURE PAINTINGS OF WOMEN, 19TH CENTURY

A set of three individual Persian miniature paintings dating from the Qajar period, presented together in a single mount. The works are executed in gouache and gold on paper or card, featuring the fine speckled background characteristic of nineteenth-century Iranian portraiture. The left panel depicts a woman in traditional Qajar dress, including a patterned blue tunic (qaba) worn over voluminous orange trousers (zir-jameh) and a headscarf (charqad). She holds a small vessel, and a bird is situated at her feet. The centre panel shows a woman in a red tunic and diagonally striped trousers, her hair adorned with pearls and flowers, holding a small white cup. The right panel illustrates a woman in a crown and a pink, low-necked dress with a long white veil, representing the Europeanised style of portraiture popular during the late Safavid and Qajar eras. The upper right corner of this third panel contains three lines of black ink Nasta’liq calligraphy. The first line reads ‘Ghorban-e jan’ (Sacrifice of life), the second ‘Kamtarin bande’ (The most humble servant), and the third ‘Jan nesar’ (Devoted or one who sacrifices their life). The trio is housed in a modern wooden frame with a cream-coloured mount.

34 by 26cm framed