A FEMALE QAJAR BEAUTY AND A COURTLY MUSICIAN
Qajar Iran, first half 19th century

Oil on a metallic plate, possibly made of zinc or copper, each portrait painted in a vertical format, the first depicting a heavily bejewelled Qajar maiden wearing encrusted gold bazubands on her arms and pearl-studded cuffs and hair ornament, her fingers dyed in red henna pigment, holding a rose blossom in her left hand, the latter with a courtly musician playing a Persian setar (string instrument), wearing a conical red hat with paisley leaf (boteh) motif and sewn with pearls, the cuffs also studded with pearls and gems, both portraits set against a dark blue ground, glazed and mounted in modern gilt wood frames with mirror mosaic on the outer edges, each 45.5cm x 36.5cm.