Moʿin Moṣavver | Individual Drawings and Paintings

Painting 1673.5

A Maiden, Standing, Wearing Diaphanous Robes

Location: Current whereabouts unknown. Formerly in the Hagop Kevorkian Collection.
Painting: (H x W) 18.4 x 11.4 cm.
Signature: Signed and erroneously dated 1108/1696. Circa 1084/1673.

Inscription
 The inscription is signed on the right edge near the bottom, in miniscule characters in Moʿin’s hand, typical to his signature style that he employed on manuscript pages: raqam zad kamina moʿin-e moṣavver. A date of 1108/1696 is inscribed in numerals just below.

Description:
A young woman, elegantely clad in sheer dress, is standing on a rock apparently in a stream. She appears to be Iranian, and might well be the same person as depicted in 1673.3. Her body faces the right, but she turns her head to face the left front. Her right arm is bent at the elbow grasping her outer garment away from her body and over her head; long black hair hangs down her back to knee level. The setting is a landscape with wisps of foliage and scrol clouds above.

Bibliography:
Sothebys London, 7 April 1975, Lot 60
Sothebys London, 24 April 1996, Lot 61

Commentary:
The inscription appears to be in form, wording, and style, a valid signature of Moʿin. The date of 1108/1696, howevr, is suspect for three reasons; (1) it is written in a different color than the inscription, (2) 1696 is three years after what we believe to be Moʿin's death, (3) lastly, and most importantly, the subject of the painting, as pointed out by Sotheby's, appears to be the same woman portrayed in 1673.3, which is dated 1084/1673. The present painting probably dates from about the same time.

Photo after Sothebys,

Robert Eng
Last Updated: December 26, 2019 | Originally published: December 26, 2019