Mirror Case With Pictures of Saint Mary and Baby Jesus Christ

Mirror case.
Era: Qajar Period, Persia.
Date: 19th Century.
Kept in a museum in Iran.
Source: [1]

This is a painting on a rectangular mirror case with pictures of Saint Mary and baby Jesus. He is the central figure of Christianity and whom most Christian denominations worship as the Son of God.

An Erotic Qajar Lacquer Mirror Case

Mirror Case.
Era: Qajar Dynasty, Persia.
Date: late 19th Century.
Size: 12.5 x 7.1 cm.
Sold at Bonhams Auction.
Source: [1]

آینه اروتیک دوره قاجار با ۳ تصویر. حراجی بونامز

This mirror is decorated with a partially clothed maiden holding a dove to the reverse, a maiden performing an erotic dance to the front and a couple in an erotic embrace to the interior. The borders are decorated with scrolling foliate (leaves or leaflike motifs) vines.

Parthian statuette, found at Babylon

Nude woman, Parthian, found at Babylon
Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany
Source: Flickr [1]

Mihr and Nahid, King Kayvan's Daughter, on Their Wedding Night

Folio
Era: before Safavids, Iran
Date: 1476 AD
Size: H: 8 1/16 x W: 4 3/4 in. (20.5 x 12 cm)
Material and Technique: ink and pigments on laid Persian laid paper
Kept in the Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Sources: [1],[2]

This folio from Walters manuscript W.627 contains a miniature depicting Mihr and Nahid, King Kayvan's daughter, on their wedding night. It can be considered somewhat erotic since it belongs to a period which erotic imagery did not exist in Persian manuscripts.

A European Woman Seated Under a Branch, With an Owl

Painting
Era: Safavid Empire, Persia
Creation Date: 1700-1732
Artist: Muhammad Sadiq
Media & Technique: Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
Dimensions: 10 7/16 in. x 7 5/16 in. (26.5 cm x 18.6 cm)
Kept in the San Diego Museum of Art,  San Diego, CA, USA.
Sources: [1],[2]

نقاشی یک زن اروپایی (ملکه آن) - دوره صفوی - موزه هنر سان دیگو , آمریکا

Here is a rare painting from Safavid Iran which displays a European lady dressed in style of Queen Anne of England. The lady in the painting has striking facial similarities with Queen Anne. I am not sure why there is an owl in this painting. This painting is kept in the San Diego Museum of Art in California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. Queen Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, the kingdoms of England and Scotland, united as a single sovereign state: the united kingdom of Great Britain. The second image is a portrait of Queen Anne.

Possible Elamite Erotic Art

Possibly Another Elamite Artwork. There is a similar item that is claimed to be Elamite which we posted before. Link [1]
Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany
Source: Flickr [2]

Qajar Woman Playing a Guitar

Painting
Era: Qajar Dynasty, Iran
Date: 1800-1830
Materials and Techniques: Oil on calico
Kept in Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK.
Sources: [1],[2]

This painting is part of a group purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1876. At the time, it was described as being, "From the Shah's palace at Tehran."  The painting may well have been removed from a palace erected by Fath 'Ali Shah (reigned 1797-1834). His residences were often decorated with series of oil paintings in this style, which were built into the walls. The individual paintings are usually portraits of a single, large human figure. The shapes of the figures are flattened out, but there is a great deal of decorative detail.  Many of the series painted for Fath 'Ali Shah show imaginary portraits of members of a royal harem. In this case, a woman is shown playing a guitar.

Painting in oils was introduced to Iran after 1600, when the country had strong commercial links with Europe. Production shrank during the troubled period after the Afghan invasion of Iran in 1722. It burst back into life under the Qajar dynasty, who reunited the country in the 1780s and 1790s. Fath 'Ali Shah was the second ruler of this dynasty, and his patronage led to this revival of oil painting.

A 19th Century Qajar Lady

Painting
Era: Qajar Period, Persia.
Date: 19th Century
Materials and Techniques: Oil on canvas
Size: 19½ x 16½ in. (49.5 x 42.3 cm.)
Sold at Christie's Auction
Source: [1]

The dancer is depicted standing in an interior, the reverse inscribed in French 'école persane. This painting is possibly created after Naser Adin Shah's travel to Europe, since this he created this type of outfit specially the short skirt for female members of his court when he came back to Iran. This type of skirts were copied by the king from ballerinas' outfits.

A Qajar Footed Bowl, 19th Century

Bowl
Era: Qajar period, Persia.
Date: Possibly 19th Century
Size: 8.7 in. (22 cm) diam.
Sold at Christie's auction.
Sources: [1], [2]

کاسه دوره قاجار با نگاره‌ اروتیک

This bowl is painted in blue, black and brown with an erotic scene of a couple in a garden. You can see cartouches of calligraphy alternating with rosettes on rim. According to the online catalog the size of bowl is 22 centimeters in diameter.

A Qajar Enamelled Gold Medallion

Medallion pin
Era: Qajar Period, Persia.
Material: Enamelled gold
Date: 19th Century
Sold at  Bonhams Auctions, England.
Size: 4.3 cm long
Source: [1]

I found this on Bonhams. This is a Qajar enamelled gold Medallion in the form of a Brooch. The oval is decorated in polychrome with a maiden bare decollete, within a band of cusped gold sections and seed-pearls. The reverse side fitted with pin. The item is about 4.3 cm long.

Bahram Gur With a Princess

Illustration
Qajar era, Persia
Date: second half of the 19th Century
Size: 23.6 x 13.5 cm
Sold at Bonham's auction
Source: [1]

نگاره بهرام گور و یک شاهزاده خانم - دوره قاجار - حراجی بونامز

This illustrated leaf is from a manuscript of Persian poetry depicting Bahram Gur with a princess seated in green and white pavilions. The Persian text is written in columns of Nasta'liq script in black ink. As most Qajar illustrations, the old king is pictured dressed in contemporary of Qajar era. To learn more about Nasta'liq script click here: [2]

Lady Khorshid

Painting
Qajar era, Persia
Date: 1843
Artist: Sani ol-Molk
Materials and Techniques: watercolor on paper.
Sources: [1], [2]

نقاشی خورشید خانم اثر ابوالحسن غفاری - دوره قاجار

This painting called "The Lady Khorshid"  is painted by Abolhassan Ghafari. The subject looks intently at the viewer, her gaze establishing a direct connection between her, the represented participant, and the viewer, an interactive participant. This visual configuration is a demand, as she explicitly acknowledges the viewer:  the character  wishes to influence the viewer in some way to enter into an imaginary intellectual relation with the her.

Lady Khorshid was actually the painter's cousin, who possibly acted as the matriarch to Ghaffari clan. In this image, the woman’s body language, stance and gaze suggest a challenge to the target audience to comprehend her. The symbolic design pattern on  a darkly painted interior wall is in contrast with the clear sunny day outside.  Here a  connection is established between the Lady Khorshid and the viewer, also because of the horizontal angle from the front, that is because she  is facing the viewer squarely. Such a representation invites the involvement of the reader with the image. 

Woman Playing a Setar

Painting
Era: Qajar period, Iran
Date: circa 1830
Dimensions: overall: 172.1 x 83.8 cm
Medium: oil on canvas
Kept in Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, Hawaii, USA
Sources: [1],[2]

زن نوازنده قاجاری با بالا تنه بدن نما - بنیاد هنر اسلامی دوریس دوک در شانگری لا، هاوایی، آمریکا

This 19th century painting depicts a young female musician playing setar and dressed in a see through shirt. Setar originated in Persia before the spread of Islam, and it is a member of the lute family, which is played with index finger of the right hand.

According to the Foundation, beautiful young female musicians, dancers, and acrobats were a favorite subject of erotic oil paintings created during the reign of Fath Ali Shah and his grand son Mohammad Shah Qajar. Such paintings were hung in the private rooms of the king's palaces, not in public reception rooms.

To learn more about Doris Duke Foundation click here: [3] - in Persian

Young Couple

Painting
Qajar or Pahlavi Era, Iran
20th century
Materials and technique: oil on canvas.
Dimensions: 20 x 20 cm
Collections of Olga Davidson
Source: [1]

نقاشی زوج جوان - کلکسیون اولگا دیویدسون

This painting depicts a couple. The digital archive (Women’s Worlds in Qajar Iran) at Harvard University does not provide any in depth information about this painting. The man's turban is similar to that of Zand period. My assumption is that this work was created in early Pahlavi era. One interesting observation about the female figure is that she doesn't have a unibrow like traditional Qajar paintings!

Woman Holding a Cup and a Decanter

Miniature Painting
Safavid Period, Persia
Origin: Iran, 1681
Materials and technique: gouache
Artist: Ali Naqi
Size:  14.8 x 8.9 cm
Kept in Hermitage Museum, Russia.
Sources: [1], [2]

This work is attributed to Ali Naqi. There is not much information about him on the internet. If I find something, I will fix this post. 

Six Pages of Persian Erotica

Illustration
Qajar Era, Persia
Date: 19th cenury
Size: 10 X 7 inches (largest)
Sold on Live Auctioneers
Source: [1]

These six pages are another examples of erotic art in Qajar period. They are visibly influenced by Indian Kama Sutra illustrations.

Painting of a Qajar Lady in Outside Dress

Painting,
Qajar Period, Persia
Circa 1850
Materials and technique: oil on canvas
Size: 148 x 87 cm
Kept in the State Museums of Berlin, Prussian Cultural Heritage, Museum of Ethnology (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)
Source: [1]

نقاشی زن قاجاری با چادر - موزه برلین

This is possibly an image of the wife of the Shah of Persia or another Noblewoman. This woman has a ventilated curtain. Persian women wore a different veil in the 19th Century. The body was concealed with the black, gold-embroidered fabric here called chadoor, while a graceful white veil (picheh) covered her face. In this painting, the young woman at the moment has lifted both veils and so the viewer is allowed to see her beautiful appearance. Due to the very precious materials for the long dress and jacket on the transparent blouse the woman seems to have a high ranking status in the court. The painting was acquired by Heinrich Petermann in 1854 in Persia.

Monir al-Saltaneh

Photography
Qajar Period, Persia
Source: [1]

عکس منیرالسلطنه در دربار ناصری

The lady in the right hand side, is Monir al-Saltaneh who was one of Naser al-adin Shah's wives. She was the daughter of the architect to the crown. Naser al-adin Shah's favorite son Prince Kamran Mirza was her son as well; as a result, she became an influential woman in the Qajar court.

Painting Depicting a Couple in an Erotic Embrace in Bedchambers of Qajar Persia

Painting
Qajar period, Persia.
Date: mid-19th Century.
Materials and technique: gouache on paper, mounted on album pages, colored borders.
size: 295 x 205 mm.
Sold online on Bonhams auction.
Source: [1]

نقاشی اروتیک دوره قاجار - حراج بونامز

This artwork seems to belong to Qajar period. Love making scenes were usually veiled in the paintings of Safavid Period. Such erotic scenes were perhaps adopted by Iranian artists from Indian Kama Sutra illustrations as they became familiar with these forms when Persia started having more direct cultural interactions with Mughal Empire. 

Nude Girl And a Doe (Female Deer)

Painting.
Qajar Era, Iran.
Unknown artist from Iran
Date: 19th century
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 140 × 83.5 cm (55.1 × 32.9 in)t
Kept in Art Museum of Georgia or Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, Tbilisi. შალვა ამირანაშვილის სახელობის ხელოვნების მუზეუმი [1] or Georgian National Museum.
Sources: [2],[3]

.نقاشی اروتیک دختر و آهو- دوره قاجار - موزه گرجستان، تفلیس

The Georgian National Museum is a museum network in Georgia that brings together several leading museums from various parts of the country. There were only few sources online that I could make sure this painting is in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The style of this painting belongs to Qajar School. It is unknown how it ended up in Georgia. Nevertheless, it is another beautiful example of the art form that exemplifies the elegant tastes and customs of the royal court of Qajars. Painting in oils was introduced to Iran after 1600, when the country had strong commercial links with Europe.