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Lot Essay
Muhammad Isma'il was the most notable follower of Najaf 'Ali. The two artists had probably a master - pupil relationship and it has been suggested that Muhammad Isma'il was Najaf 'Ali's brother. The family link has later been discarded although Muhammad Isma'il formed a close professional partnership with Muhammad Kazim bin Najaf 'Ali, one of Najaf 'Ali's sons (Nasser D. Khalili, B.W. Robinson and Tim Stanley, Lacquer from the Islamic Lands, Oxford, 1997, p.46).
Muhammad Isma'il's earliest work is a penbox dated AH 1256/1840-1 AD and he continued working until the early 1870s. He excelled in depictions of battle scenes and sometimes painted portraits of his contemporaries. However, Muhammad Isma'il is mostly recognizable by his "Frankish fantasies", scenes filled with large numbers of European dressed figures, including Armenian clergy, and having a metaphorical meaning inspired by Farid al-Din 'Attar's Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-Tayr) and the tale of Shaykh San'an. The verses from Hatif Isfahani written on these works emphasize the link with mystic poetry.
The decoration of this mirror case seems to derive from compositions drawn by Najaf 'Ali in his later period. However, the European banquets, the Armenian priests and worshippers, the scenes set in medallions bordered with gold rococo scrollworks are all typical of Muhammad Isma'il's works. A mirror case dated AH 1274/1857-8 AD and painted with a very close version of the Armenian priest before a Church is in the Nasser D. Khalili collection (Nasser D. Khalili et al), op.cit., cat.260, p.70). The decoration arranged in tiers bordered with rococo-style scrollworks as it appears on the present work and on a very fine case in the Hashem Khosrovani Collection are typical of the middle part of the artist's carreer. Works from this period reflect a shift in taste during the mid-nineteenth century "when monumental painting was eclipsed by history painting in small scale format" (Layla Diba, Royal Persian Paintings, Brooklyn, 1999, cat.73, p.235-236).
The story of Shaykh San'an as it appears in Farid al-Din 'Attar's Conference of the Birds is that of a spiritual guide who decides to travel to the land of the Greeks to find the meaning of a dream he repeatedly has. In his dream, Shaykh San'an leaves Mecca for the land of the Greeks and prostrates himself before an idol. After wandering in the remote country, Shaykh San'an falls in love with a maiden, a Christian of spiritual mien, and abandons his religion. He is often depicted receiving wine from the maiden or drunk, reclining on her lap.
Muhammad Isma'il's earliest work is a penbox dated AH 1256/1840-1 AD and he continued working until the early 1870s. He excelled in depictions of battle scenes and sometimes painted portraits of his contemporaries. However, Muhammad Isma'il is mostly recognizable by his "Frankish fantasies", scenes filled with large numbers of European dressed figures, including Armenian clergy, and having a metaphorical meaning inspired by Farid al-Din 'Attar's Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-Tayr) and the tale of Shaykh San'an. The verses from Hatif Isfahani written on these works emphasize the link with mystic poetry.
The decoration of this mirror case seems to derive from compositions drawn by Najaf 'Ali in his later period. However, the European banquets, the Armenian priests and worshippers, the scenes set in medallions bordered with gold rococo scrollworks are all typical of Muhammad Isma'il's works. A mirror case dated AH 1274/1857-8 AD and painted with a very close version of the Armenian priest before a Church is in the Nasser D. Khalili collection (Nasser D. Khalili et al), op.cit., cat.260, p.70). The decoration arranged in tiers bordered with rococo-style scrollworks as it appears on the present work and on a very fine case in the Hashem Khosrovani Collection are typical of the middle part of the artist's carreer. Works from this period reflect a shift in taste during the mid-nineteenth century "when monumental painting was eclipsed by history painting in small scale format" (Layla Diba, Royal Persian Paintings, Brooklyn, 1999, cat.73, p.235-236).
The story of Shaykh San'an as it appears in Farid al-Din 'Attar's Conference of the Birds is that of a spiritual guide who decides to travel to the land of the Greeks to find the meaning of a dream he repeatedly has. In his dream, Shaykh San'an leaves Mecca for the land of the Greeks and prostrates himself before an idol. After wandering in the remote country, Shaykh San'an falls in love with a maiden, a Christian of spiritual mien, and abandons his religion. He is often depicted receiving wine from the maiden or drunk, reclining on her lap.