Era: Qajar period, Iran
Date: Mid to late 19th century (1850 - 1885)
Materials and technique: Gouache on paper
Dimension: 11 x 9in (28 x 22.9cm)
Sold at Christie's Auction
Source: [1]
نقاشی یک زوج در حال رابطه جنسی - دوره قاجار - حراجی کریستی
Again, in this erotic painting, you can see that the artist has depicted two lovers on a patterned carpet next to a large pillow. The lady is fully naked while the man's sexual organ is exposed. The male lover appears considerably older than the woman. Around them, there are variety of blue and red Eslimi [2] or Arabesque [3] flowers similar to ones you see in traditional tiles or Persian carpets. The Islamic arabesque is an inherited art form developed from the Byzantine and Persian types of vegetal decorations.Apparently, this painting is a part of three other paintings that are sold together at Christie's online auction. These erotic forms are possibly a result of Indian influence on Persia. Unlike their Indian counterparts, the Persian painters were reluctant to show sexual organs. It seems as they learned how Mughal artists used Kama Sutra [4] to depict erotic scenes, the Persians started to create such artworks as well. Comparing to that of Mughal's, however, the Persian form lacks creativity or ingenuity. To study more about this subject look at this: [5]. There is also a book about Erotica in Iran, which is called Sarv-e Naz: An Essay on Love and the Representations of Erotic Themes in Ancient Iran, by Robert Surieu. [6]
To see similar blog entries: [7], [8]
