Partly colored drawing pasted on an album leaf. ‘A Prince with Courtiers in a Landscape’. Attributed to Muhammad Qasim
Iran, Isfahan; c. 1650
Drawing: 22.9 × 13 cm
Inventory number 154/2006
A prince is seated under a tree, surrounded by a number of elderly courtiers, two young women making music, and a flock of young pages. On the other side of a little brook sits an old man with an open book that reads, “O God, forgive those with an obedient heart” – perhaps a slightly bitter comment on the company’s drinking.
The prince is most probably Shah Abbas II (1642-1666), one of Abbas the Great’s most competent successors although he, like many of his companions, had a hankering for alcohol.
This beautiful drawing, with the figures’ heavy, slightly melancholy eyelids, was undoubtedly made by Muhammad Qasim.
The prince is most probably Shah Abbas II (1642-1666), one of Abbas the Great’s most competent successors although he, like many of his companions, had a hankering for alcohol.
This beautiful drawing, with the figures’ heavy, slightly melancholy eyelids, was undoubtedly made by Muhammad Qasim.
Published in
Published in
Kjeld von Folsach: For the Privileged Few: Islamic Miniature Painting from The David Collection, Louisiana, Humlebæk 2007, cat.no. 90;
Kjeld von Folsach, Joachim Meyer: The Human Figure in Islamic Art – Holy Men, Princes, and Commoners, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2017, cat.no. 51;
Kjeld von Folsach, Joachim Meyer and Peter Wandel: Fighting, Hunting, Impressing. Arms and Armour from the Islamic World 1500-1850, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2021, fig. 30, p. 87;
Kjeld von Folsach, Joachim Meyer: The Human Figure in Islamic Art – Holy Men, Princes, and Commoners, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2017, cat.no. 51;
Kjeld von Folsach, Joachim Meyer and Peter Wandel: Fighting, Hunting, Impressing. Arms and Armour from the Islamic World 1500-1850, The David Collection, Copenhagen 2021, fig. 30, p. 87;
The Safavids and Their Successors
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