This drawing of a kneeling youth wearing a fur-lined gold cap is based on a work attributed to Shaikh Muhammad, an artist who was active from the 1530s to the end of the 1580s. The gold decoration on the figure’s robe, the chain of amulets and a purse across his chest, and the landscape elements do not appear in the original. Despite the long tresses, dangling earring, and narrow waist of this figure, his cap and pose indicate that he is a young man.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Kneeling Youth
Date:late 16th century
Geography:Attributed to Iran, Qazvin
Medium:Ink, watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions:Overall: H. 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm) W. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm) Dimensions of entire page: H. 8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm) W. 12 3/16 in. (31 cm)
Classification:Codices
Credit Line:Rogers and Fletcher Funds, 1973
Accession Number:1973.92
Kneeling Youth
Several drawings almost identical to the Kneeling Youth exist.[1] There seems to have been a venerated master drawing of the figure that has inspired or perhaps challenged the later artists to reproduce the figure in this particular kneeling position, with the same hair style, headgear, and sashed robe. The Museum's youth kneels on the right leg while his hands are placed one above the other on the left knee. His robe, buttoned in front, is animated by images of simurghs drawn in gold. A sash knotted at the waist and a beaded string with a small purse hung around his left shoulder and torso complete his attire. The peculiar oval cap, with what seems to be a fur trimming, slants downward over his forehead. From beneath the cap long strands of hair flow over the shoulders running parallel to long, dangling earrings. The landscape setting is made up of low-lying rocks in the foreground with bushes and foliage interspersed behind the figure. An identical drawing is the Young Man in a Gold Hat in the collection of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (IR.M.73).
These two drawings share a common tradition not only in terms of motifs but also with regard to their refined courtly mood and the generalities of the style. Yet the Museum's example seems to be a costlier (if the amount of gold is used as a gauge) variant but not so high in the quality of draftsmanship as the drawing in the Prince Sadruddin collection. At least two other drawings of the same pose and general appearance of the costume, albeit of female figures, may be mentioned: a Young Woman Kneeling, signed by Reza 'Abbasi and dated 1603, in the Hermitage, Leningrad, and a Girl in a Furred Bonnet by Muhammad 'Ali, dating to about 1650–60, in the Louvre.[2]
[Swietochowski and Babaie 1989]
Footnotes:
I. See Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (IR.M.73); Stchoukine, Ivan. Les Peintures des Manuscrits de Shah 'Abbas Ier à la fin des Safavis. Paris, 1964, pI. XXXII; and Robinson, B. W. Persian Drawings from the 14th through the 19th Century. Exhibition catalogue. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1965, pI. 62.
2. See note 1 above.
[ Adrienne Minassian, New York, until 1973; sold to MMA]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Islamic Jewelry in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 22–August 14, 1983, fig. 10.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Persian Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art," September 13–December 31, 1989, no. 23.
Robinson, Basil William. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Persian Paintings in the Bodleain Library. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958. pp. 137–52.
Swietochowski, Marie, and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina. Notable Acquisitions 1965–1975 (1975). p. 134, ill. (b/w).
Jenkins-Madina, Marilyn, and Manuel Keene. Islamic Jewelry in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1983. p. 102, ill. fig. 10 (b/w).
Swietochowski, Marie, and Sussan Babaie. Persian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989. no. 23, pp. 56–57, ill. pl. 23 (b/w).
`Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Iranian, Rey 903–986 Shiraz)
late 15th century
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