Harvard Art Museums > 2015.32: Mirza Zayn al-`Abidin Paintings Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Mirza Zayn al-`Abidin (Abu al-Hasan Ghaffari Kashani Naqqash-Bashi) , 2015.32,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 22, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/353187. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 2015.32 People Abu al-Hasan Ghaffari Kashani Naqqash-Bashi Title Mirza Zayn al-`Abidin Classification Paintings Work Type painting Date 1857-1858 Places Creation Place: Middle East, Iran Period Qajar period Culture Persian Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/353187 Physical Descriptions Medium Black ink, watercolor, and graphite on beige wove paper Dimensions 31.8 x 19.5 cm (12 1/2 x 7 11/16 in.) Inscriptions and Marks Signed: Abu'l-Hasan naqqashbashi Kashani Ghaffari inscription: Shāhanshāhī muqarrab al-khāqān muʾtamin al-sulṭān Mīrzā Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn mustawfī-i khāṣṣa dar sinn-i chihil va chahār sāligī raqm-i Abū al-Ḥasan Naqqāsh-Bāshī Kāshānī Ghaffārī sana 1274 Royal intimate of the emperor, confidante of the sultan, Mirza Zayn al-ʿAbidin, comptroller of the crown at the age of 44. Painted by Abu al-Hasan Kashani Ghaffari, the Chief Painter, [in] the year 1857–58 Provenance Recorded Ownership History Kazem R. Kooros, Houston, Texas (by 1969), gift; to his son Vahid Kooros, Houston, Texas (by 1979), gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2015. Note: Kazem R. Kooros (1906-2010) was a major collector of Qajar art. He purchased works of art on the international art market from the 1950s through the 1980s. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Vahid Kooros in honor of Thomas W. Lentz Accession Year 2015 Object Number 2015.32 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description In this unfinished painting, the sitter kneels within a shallow space and faces the viewer with a penetrating gaze. Although European fashions had entered Persian clothing and furniture by the middle of the nineteenth century (painting dated 1274 H. (1857-1858)), this figure’s garments and posture are staunchly traditional. He wears the tall Astrakhan hat favored by the Qajar court and two long robes. The outer cloak is broadly sketched in, but the blue inner robe is carefully rendered in a moiré pattern. The details of the striped sash and the complicated piping on the robes suggest the fine woolen fabrics woven in Kirman, which Qajar government policy aimed to promote over Kashmir imports at the time this painting was created. The sitter’s two hands—with henna-stained nails—are tucked into his sash, along with two rolled documents. Publication History David Roxburgh and Mary McWilliams, ed., Technologies of the Image: Art in 19th-Century Iran, exh. cat., Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2017), pp. 118-119, fig. 11; pp. 132-133, cat. 3 Exhibition History Technologies of the Image: Art in 19th-Century Iran, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/26/2017 - 01/07/2018 Verification Level This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
