LATE SAFAVID OR ZAND IRAN, 18TH CENTURY

Garments fashioned from luxurious silk brocades were the epitome of Safavid style. The bright colours and use of gold in Safavid fashion was something repeatedly remarked upon by European visitors to Safavid Iran in the 17th and 18th centuries (Carol Bier (ed.), Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran 16th-19th centuries, Washington D.C., 1987, p214). In the later Safavid and Qajar periods garments for both men and women tended towards a more tailored fit with a cinched waist, curved hips and pointed cuffs similar to the style of the present robe.

A silk brocade robe attributed to the 18th century with a similarly dense floral design is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no C.I.40.196). Another two closely comparable robes dated to the 17th or 18th century are in The Textile Museum, Washington D.C. (inv.no.3.94 and inv.no. 1985.5.1) and two further very closely related robes dated to the late 18th or early 19th century are in the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs de Lyon (MT 31515 and MT 31516; Gwenaëlle Fellinger and Carol Guillaume, L’Empire des roses: chefs-d’oeuvre de l’art persan du XIXe siècle, Gand & Lens, 2018, cat. 339 and 340, pp.350-51).