A QAJAR COUPLE SMOKING A WATER PIPE (QALYAN)
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Qajar Iran, 19th century

Opaque pigments and ink on wove paper, the vertical composition depicting an orange-clad man with a tall black Astrakhan fur kaj kolah headdress handing over a qalyan to a woman wearing a long chador covering her full body, the front of her garment enhanced with striped termeh fabric, the only visible parts of her body her perfectly rounded face and red-stained hands, the scene set in an idyllic landscape crossed by a river, mounted, glazed and framed, the painting 21cm x 16cm excluding the frame.