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10/9/12

Portrait of a Safavid Noblewoman With a Rose

Painting.
Safavid Period, Isfahan, Iran
Date: circa 1680 - 1720 AD
Materials and Techniques: oil on canvas
Size: 165 x 88.8 cm
Sold at Sotheby's auction.
نقاشی یک زن صفوی گًل رز به دست. حراجی ساتبی
A beautiful life-size oil painting circa 1700 of a Noblewoman from Safavid Persia is another highlight (auctioned for £600,000–800,000). Only thirteen examples of this type of portrait are known to exist and none are present in Western public museum collections. The painting is thought to have been given by Shah’ Abbas II to the British ambassador at the court in Isfahan around 1700 – a time when the city was rapidly establishing itself as a major cultural and political center, having become the capital of Persia in 1597. Very few free hanging portraits in this style were painted, demonstrating their importance as a cultural status symbol for the wealthy. - According to the website

Painting in oils was introduced to Iran after 1600, when the country had strong commercial links with Europe.

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