Lot 216: A Qajar Oil on Canvas Portrait of Two Sisters

A Qajar Persian oil on canvas portrait depicting two elegantly adorned young women, presented full-length in a frontal pose, against a background split between dark blue above and olive green below. The figures wear elaborate headpieces, necklaces of pearls and jewels, and highly decorative gowns in red, black, and grey with intricate patterns and borders, characteristic of Persian Qajar-era portraiture. The left figure holds a small stemmed glass with pink liquid, while the right figure holds a rectangular card or paper displaying stylized pink script, which translates from Persian as "نقش" (Naqsh, meaning "design" or "picture"). This composition bears a strong visual resemblance to the painting ‘Sisters’ in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other similar 19th-century Persian Qajar portraits found in museum and private collections.

Approximately 92 x 72.5cm