IRAN, CIRCA 1840

Details

A QAJAR DANCING GIRL
IRAN, CIRCA 1840
Oil on canvas, the girl holding castanets in her right hand while lifting her skirt with her left hand to reveal her leg, vertical tear along the left side and small areas of restoration
59 ½ x 36in. (151 x 91.5cm.)

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Lot Essay

This charming painting of a teasing dancing girl is typical of Qajar tastes. During the Qajar period royal portraits and illustrations of court performers were the two main themes of monumental painting. Falk describes these girls as "the other main subject," even though their purpose was mostly ornamental, providing colourful and entertaining images with which to decorate architectural features. Beyond their ornate quality such paintings were iconic imagery that mirrored a divided society. These entertainers and dancing girls were the only women available to the artists, reputable ladies of society were always concealed from sight behind thick swathes of fabric.

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