DESCRIPTION
Presenting this stunning Persian painting in what appears to be the traditional ‘Shiraz’ style. This late Victorian example is rendered using the squirrel single hair brush with various gouache real stone and vegetable colours; such as malachite, vermilion and ultramarine, all on silk. The entire painting is set in a white/off-white mount and finished with a decorative dark wooden frame. A highly decorative and impactful piece of Persian art whose style dates back to the 15th century.


‘Persian Art’

Persian art had three ‘schools’ or distinctive styles of painting, which were Tabriz, Shiraz and Herat. Each school featured distinctive styles of colouring and composition. Popular themes included wars, flora and fauna, royal hunts, Persian poetry, mythology, and literature. The Persian stylistic idiom was regal, with vibrant colours, detailed depictions of architecture and scenery, and balanced, two-dimensional compositions.



Persian painting is characterised by a highly ornamented flat style, with no converging perspectives, shadows, or colour blending. Single plane compositions with a flat style of rendering were the norm. The artists distinguished male and female figures by drawing them with different headdresses, as they wear similar styles of clothing. Overall, Persian art derives inspiration from European, Chinese and even Egyptian influences, such as drawing the feet of human figures in profile view.


ref. (1) Tracing The Evolution Of Indo-Persian Art

'The initially attracts us is in earlier examples are the use of real gold, real malachite, true ultramarine unmixed vermillion and are simply beautiful in themselves. What fascinates us later is more complex - there is a a childish form subtlety organised in a very mature way and a perfected draughtsmanship.'

'Living as we do in an age whose arts are so often make a point of reflecting the confusion, tension and cruelty of the the world around us, it is a pure joy and a relief to turn to the masterpieces of the Persian draughtsmen of the past. They take us to a calm world, sunlit world where everything is bathed in brilliant golden light; the men are all handsome, the women are all beautiful; the tiled arches archway and parapets of the buildings resemble the finest jewellery; the rocks are like coral; the trees and plants are always in blossom; the fantastic little spirals of cloud floating in a the gold or azure skies could never; one feels, cast a shadow on the fairy landscape.’


ref. Persian Drawings and Drawings of the Masters from the14th through the 19th Century by B. W. Robinson



CONDITION

Condition is excellent overall. The silk is complete and undamaged. The colours are full and vibrant and no significant deterioration. The frame is in good order and has all its integrity. It has some age related patina and slight ware along the back edges, but these have been sympathetically stained to blend with its original colour. Someone has obviously loved and taken good care of this piece and kept it out of direct sunlight.



Please the images as they form part of the description and condition.

SUMMARY

A beautiful Persian Art statement piece fit for any room.


SPEC

Material: Water based paints on silk, card mount and wooden frame
Size:
- Painted area visible: Width 42cm x Height64cm
- Framed area: Width 61.5cm x Height 85cm
Era: Late Victorian
Stamps: None


Please note. Additional items in the images are for display purposes only. This includes vintage jewellery boxes.