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Portrait of a Prince
Sultan Mohammed (?)
Plate 46. West Turkestan, Circa
1500, State Public Library, Petrograd (Leningrad,
then Saint Petersburg) Russia
La Miniature En Orient by Ernst
Kuhnel 1925
This
miniature is a single page portrait of Shah
Tahmasp. These portraits of young men with
similar pose, clothing, and neutral back grounds,
are seen frequently in the school of Sultan
Muhammad
Translator's Note: This piece is
a favorite of mine but also a problem. Kuhnel
suggests an attribution of the school of Sultan
Muhammad. I on the other hand see a closer
resembelence to the style of Aqa Mirak
Kuhnel attributes this to 1530
and in an examination of this same print
Poliakova and Rakhimova suggest circa 1540.1.
Despite the fact that Poliakova and Rakhimova
suggest 1540 I lean towards Kuhnel's date because
of the tree and the Turban
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| Detail - Portrait of a Prince1 To
me one of the most fascinating parts of this
piece is the tree. Please note how extensively it
has been pruned. This combined with the high
density of flowers and the heavy trunk and limbs.
This causes me to think the miniature is a little
older than Poliakova and Rakhimova suggest.
I am also struck by the care put into the
turban. The wood appears to be 12 sided and red
(faded) as one would expect in the taj of a
Kizylbashi and it show the slight indentation at
the end.
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Detail - A
Reclining Prince Attributed to Aqa Mirak -
Tabriz 1530, Vever Collection, Arther M. Sackler
Gallery, Washington DC.
I find the treatment of the turban, and
clothing to be rather similar. Please note the
sleve at the wrist.
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| Detail - Portrait of a Prince Please
note the fish in the pool. The inclusion of fish
in motion seems appropriate for a painting by Aqa
Mirak.
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Detail - A Reclining Prince
(Vide Supra) Please note the hems, folds, and
creases.
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Detail - Portrait of a Prince I
had hoped these flowers would tell me who the
artist was. They are very unusual. After
examining hundreds or perhaps thousands of images
of Islamic and related art I cannot find another
example of flowers drawn as these are. I had
hoped that I would be able to match the flowers
to the work of one of the masters of this period
and make the identification that way. I also
enjoy the charming animal's face in the rock.
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1.
Poliakova, E. A. and Rakhimova, Z. I. L'Art de la
Miniature et la Litterature de L'Orient, Tachkent,
Editions de la Litterature et des beaux-arts Gafour
Gouliame 1987. Page 270, plate 55.
2. Lowery,
Glenn D. and Nemazee Susan. A Jeweler's Eye. Washington
DC: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Smithsonian Institution,
University of Washington Press, 1988. Page 194, plate 165
N.B. My ongoing translation and
commentary on "La Miniature En Orient" is a
work in progress. I am publishing it one plate at a time
in no particular order. I flip through the book and look
for one that looks fun and then I do that one next. I
suppose the order in which I publish them says something
about my taste in art. My primary goal with this project
is not to teach you about Islamic Art but rather it is to
teach myself a little about Islamic Art. If I make an
error please let me know. I am also doing the project
this way so that if I make an error perhaps one of you
will catch it for me. By the way I also decided that this
would be a chance to learn a little more French, since I
barely know enough to make it through a menu in a French
Restaurant.
For Further Reading:
Thanks and best wishes,
J. Barry O'Connell Jr.
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