Abraham's Sacrifice
Fathallah Sani'zada
painting 3rd qtr. 18th century; border dated A.H. 1338/1919 CE · Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper · Islamic Art
The painting at the center of this page is copied after a Flemish engraving, and depicts the biblical story of Abraham's sacrifice of his son Isaac. European paintings and engravings were first available in Iran and copied during the Safavid period (1501–1722), and this scene in particular remained popular through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This version is in fact quite similar to a seventeenth-century painting signed by the Safavid artist Muhammad Zaman. The painting has been set into a frame with a dense flower and bird (gul-o-bul-bul) design, signed by Fathallah Sani'zada. The inscriptional medallion at the bottom of the page that gives his name also dedicates the work to Vusuq al-Dawleh, who was prime minister at the time.
- Artist
- Fathallah Sani'zada
- Date
- painting 3rd qtr. 18th century; border dated A.H. 1338/1919 CE
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper
- Department
- Islamic Art
- Credit line
- Bequest of Harold B. Allen, 1970
