Publication Date
1700
Publication Place
-
Aga Khan Museum
Subject
Opaque watercolor, paper
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
38.2 × 24.8 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
AKM218
Record ID
object;EPM;ca;Mus21;48;ar
Library Location
Aga Khan Museum
Date
1700
Notes
This colorful gathering of musicians and dancers illustrates the royal taste for music and dance in the Ottoman world, an interest shared by other Islamic and European courts. While single-page paintings were introduced into the artistic tradition a century before the figures were composed, the fact that they appear to be directing their performance to an audience at their right means that this picture formed half of a double-page spread of manuscript painting, and because of its consistency with earlier portraits of princes depicted in Persian-illustrated manuscripts, the audience may have been the king and his attendants. Or the lovers of the court who enjoyed the musical interludes in the country (Welsh and Welsh 1982, p. 42). There are three women standing near the musicians, dressed in scarlet dresses, while a fourth woman sits on her knees playing the iktar, which is a single-stringed lute. Meanwhile, there is a young boy sitting to the left of the lute player and tapping the drum in accordance with the musical tune. The painting was recorded in an album and contains part of the margin that is decorated with floral scrolls. Gold. While Ottoman illustrated manuscripts initially tended to focus on history and geography, on sieges, battles, and maps of conquered lands, this painting seems to fit the later interest in the peaceful aspects of court life. It probably dates back to the beginning of the eighteenth century during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III (r. 1703-30 AD) when war was not at the forefront of the political agenda and the Sultan developed his artistic taste inspired by the seventeenth century. However, Ottoman artistic features are abundant: the cypress trees and cherry blossoms surrounding the musicians are reminiscent of such motifs on the Iznik tiles made for the Ottoman court in the mid-16th century under Suleiman I (r. 1520-66 AD).
Sample Text
“Musical Collection” within Discover Islamic Art Collections. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;EPM;ca;Mus21;48;ar
