Moʿin Moṣavver | Individual Drawings and Paintings
Drawing 1670.1
Man with a Mustache, Seated
Location: Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, no.14.619.
Drawing: Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper. (H x W) 26 x 16 cm.
Signature: Unsigned, undated. Circa 1670.
Inscription
None
Description:
A middle aged man with a large mustache is depicted sitting, cross-legged, on the ground facing the right. He wears a large white turban and a long robe knotted at the waist with a sash. His left arm is resting on his left leg, and with his right hand grasps his left ankle. A large bowl, plate, bottle, and a small dish are placed on the ground before him in the lower right foreground.
Bibliography:
Schulz_1914, pl.150.
Coomaraswamy, Goloubew_1929, no.86, pl.XLVIII.
Stchoukine, SA_1964, pp.66-67.
Commentary:
Despite the lack of a signature or inscription, the characteristics of Moʿin’s style are unmistakably evident in this drawing. The wrinkled brow, piercing eyes, broad mustache, calligraphic line, and pose, are all features it shares in common with authenticated Moʿin works (cf. 1663.2, 1672.1, and 1674.1). Subsequently, an attribution to the master seems quite plausible.
Photo courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Copyright © 2018 The Museum of Fine Arts, Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912 and Picture Fund.
Robert Eng
Last Updated: November 19, 2018 | Originally published: November 19, 2018
Drawing 1670.1
Man with a Mustache, Seated
Location: Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, no.14.619.
Drawing: Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper. (H x W) 26 x 16 cm.
Signature: Unsigned, undated. Circa 1670.
Inscription
None
Description:
A middle aged man with a large mustache is depicted sitting, cross-legged, on the ground facing the right. He wears a large white turban and a long robe knotted at the waist with a sash. His left arm is resting on his left leg, and with his right hand grasps his left ankle. A large bowl, plate, bottle, and a small dish are placed on the ground before him in the lower right foreground.
Bibliography:
Schulz_1914, pl.150.
Coomaraswamy, Goloubew_1929, no.86, pl.XLVIII.
Stchoukine, SA_1964, pp.66-67.
Commentary:
Despite the lack of a signature or inscription, the characteristics of Moʿin’s style are unmistakably evident in this drawing. The wrinkled brow, piercing eyes, broad mustache, calligraphic line, and pose, are all features it shares in common with authenticated Moʿin works (cf. 1663.2, 1672.1, and 1674.1). Subsequently, an attribution to the master seems quite plausible.
Photo courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Copyright © 2018 The Museum of Fine Arts, Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912 and Picture Fund.
Robert Eng
Last Updated: November 19, 2018 | Originally published: November 19, 2018
