SAFAVID IRAN, MID-16TH CENTURY

Pen and ink drawings of courtiers and other characters seen around Safavid Qazvin became popular from the 16^th century, setting the groundwork for a genre that would greatly expand after the establishment of a new capital at Isfahan. One of the undisputed early masters of this art was Shaykh Muhammad, whose works include a youth in a fur hat in the Musée de Louvre, Paris (acc.no.OA7117) and a groom struggling with a camel in the Cleveland Museum of Art (acc.no.1944.489). Many of these drawings have the quality of sketches, including charming details such as the detailed - if slightly caricatured - fox in the upper corner of our work.