Era: Qajar Period, Persia
City: Possibly Isfahan
Date: 19th Century
Size: 23 x 32 cm
Sold at Christie's auction
Sources: [1],[2],[3]
کاشی سرامیکی حضرت مریم و عیسی مسیح - دوره قاجار - حراجی کریستی
When average westerners think about the treatment of Christians in modern Iran, many negative thoughts could surface. For them, it is unlikely to imagine that even in 18th and 19th century, Christians managed to practice their faith somewhat freely. This iconic tile shows the virgin Mary and Jesus, and was possibly created in Isfahan which had a huge Christian population.The tile itself in beautiful, and has some European flavor as it was perhaps influenced by European images. They are depicted in shades of green and blue surrounded with floral motifs. In the past, I also talked about a Safavid fabric with Christian iconography which you may look at in here: [4]
