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Lot Essay
This paintings has been a source of debate among scholars. In 1978, Anthony Welch followed Stchoukine in claiming this painting to be the authentic work of Reza Abbasi, writing that 'the excellent quality of the drawing [...] confirms the genuineness of the signature'. Years later, in her monograph on the artist, Sheila Canby rejected the attribution, arguing that 'the treatment of the fur hat' was incorrect for the artist, since the effect was achieved by 'by smudging the pigment instead of through Reza's customary use of fine lines' (Canby 1996, p.207). Even if the signature is rejected, this painting is a faithful homage to Reza's style, the figure perhaps most reminiscent of another barefoot youth in the Art and History Trust, Houston, Texas (published Canby 1996, no.35, p.184).
The burn marks on the figure's arm are likely to have been self-inflicted, either as a sign of devotion to the figure's partner or to the divine. The practice is described by Don Juan of Persia, an Iranian convert to Catholicism, who described in his memoirs how 'the lover who would prove that his love is sincere must painfully burn himself in various parts of his person with a slow match' to prove the depth of his affection (Le Strange 1926, p.54). A painting signed by Afzal al-Husayni and dated AH 1056 / 1646-7 AD depicts a woman inflicting these burns on her lover (Canby, 1998, no.50, pp.77-8). The effects of these burns can also be seen on the badly-scarred figure, often described as a dervish, in a painting in the British Museum (acc.no.1920,0917,0.298.4).
The present drawing was owned by Hyacinthe-Louis Rabindo di Borgomale, a career diplomat who was posted to Rasht in 1906, where he developed a particular fascination for the history of the Caspian provinces of Iran. In spite of later postings to Morocco, Izmir, Thessaloniki, and Cairo, his scholarship remained focussed on Iran. Though he lent seven paintings and drawings to the 1931 Burlington House exhibition, his particular speciality was numismatics. He published several articles in the Numismatic Chronicle between 1908 and 1950, as well as a monograph entitled 'Coins, medals, and seals of the Shahs of Iran 1500-1941' in 1945. After his death he was awarded the medal of the Royal Numismatic Society, and many of his coins are now in the British Museum.
The burn marks on the figure's arm are likely to have been self-inflicted, either as a sign of devotion to the figure's partner or to the divine. The practice is described by Don Juan of Persia, an Iranian convert to Catholicism, who described in his memoirs how 'the lover who would prove that his love is sincere must painfully burn himself in various parts of his person with a slow match' to prove the depth of his affection (Le Strange 1926, p.54). A painting signed by Afzal al-Husayni and dated AH 1056 / 1646-7 AD depicts a woman inflicting these burns on her lover (Canby, 1998, no.50, pp.77-8). The effects of these burns can also be seen on the badly-scarred figure, often described as a dervish, in a painting in the British Museum (acc.no.1920,0917,0.298.4).
The present drawing was owned by Hyacinthe-Louis Rabindo di Borgomale, a career diplomat who was posted to Rasht in 1906, where he developed a particular fascination for the history of the Caspian provinces of Iran. In spite of later postings to Morocco, Izmir, Thessaloniki, and Cairo, his scholarship remained focussed on Iran. Though he lent seven paintings and drawings to the 1931 Burlington House exhibition, his particular speciality was numismatics. He published several articles in the Numismatic Chronicle between 1908 and 1950, as well as a monograph entitled 'Coins, medals, and seals of the Shahs of Iran 1500-1941' in 1945. After his death he was awarded the medal of the Royal Numismatic Society, and many of his coins are now in the British Museum.