Seated Woman Curling her Hair

Unknown

late 16th–early 17th century · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper · Islamic Art

From the same album as the "Seated Youth with a Cup" (12.224.3), this image depicts a woman seated on an invisible surface, twisting a lock of her hair with both hands. Her left leg is crossed over her right knee, revealing colorful striped leggings, and her shoe has apparently dropped off, enabling the viewer to see the hennaed sole of her foot. She wears a cap with a pointed band to which a long transparent white shawl is attached. Around her neck is a jeweled gold necklace and a long chain with jeweled gold pendants is suspended across her chest. Some details of her pose recall works by Riza, but the overpainting of half her face and hands and crude treatment of the drapery indicate that the work is by a follower of the Safavid master, working in the first or second decade of the seventeenth century.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 16th–early 17th century

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1912