Youth and parrot

Maker(s)
Artist: Shaykh Muhammad
Historical period(s)
Safavid period, circa 1575
Medium
Ink and color wash on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 14.7 x 8.3 cm (5 13/16 x 3 1/4 in)
Geography
Iran, Qazvin
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1937.23
On View Location
Freer Gallery 03: Engaging the Senses
Classification(s)
Album, Drawing
Type

Album leaf with drawing

Keywords
Iran, parrot, Safavid period (1501 - 1722), youth
Provenance

To 1937
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York. [1]

From 1937
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian, New York. [2]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Hagop Kevorkian 1872-1962

Label

Portraits of idealized youths with props such as books, wine cups, or fruits were a favorite theme in later sixteenth century Persian compositions. In this fine line drawing, the object of the young man's attention is a bright green parakeet, perched on his hand. The drawing, remarkable for its sensitive but boldly abstract style, is signed by Shaykh Muhammad, one of the leading artists of the period, who is known for his delicate yet highly expressive use of line.

Published References
  • Martin Bernard Dickson, Stuart Cary Welch. The Houghton Shahnameh. 2 vols., Cambridge, Massachusetts. vol. 1: p. 165, fig. 224.
  • B. W. Robinson. Persian Drawings from the 14th through the 19th Century. Drawings of the Masters New York. pp. 23, 72, 135, pl. 40.
  • Lynda C. Claassen. Finders' Guide to Prints and Drawings in the Smithsonian Institution. Washington. p. 32.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. The Brush of the Masters: Drawings from Iran and India. Exh. cat. Washington, 1978. cat. 16, p. 49.
  • Armenag Sakisian. La Miniature Persane du XIIe au XVIIe siecle: Ouvrage accompagne de la reproduction de 193 miniatures dont deux en couleurs. Paris and Brussels. p. 90, fig. 123.
  • Eric Schroeder. Persian Miniatures in the Fogg Museum of Art. Cambridge, Massachusetts. p. 103.
  • , Massumeh Farhad, J.M. Rogers, Marianna Shreve Simpson. Persian Masters: Five Centuries of Paintings. Bombay. pp. 109, 111, fig. 12.
  • Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson, Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March 1931. Exh. cat. Oxford, January - March 1931. no. 147, p. 134.
  • Marianna Shreve Simpson, Massumeh Farhad. Sultan Ibrahim Mirza's Haft Awrang: A Princely Manuscript from Sixteenth-Century Iran. Washington and New Haven. p. 314, fig. 215.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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