Wine and Pleasure (Patreon)

A young nobleman drinking wine with a courtesan wearing a European hat, mid-17th-century, Isfahan, Safavid Iran.

In 1598, Shah Abbas I (r. 1587~1629) of the Safavid dynasty moved the capital from Qazvin to Isfahan. Under his rule, this town turned into an expansive city of mercantile arcades, tree-lined avenues, and monumental architectures. Over the course of the 17th century, Isfahan flourished into one of the largest cities of the time and a hub of early modern global trade.

The cosmopolitan nature of Isfahan was mirrored in the everyday life of its residents. One noticeable phenomenon was the growing European influence in material culture. Safavid Isfahan was full of European travellers, missionaries, and diplomatic envoys. Even European merchants and artisans settled and sold their own style of goods, such as drawings, textiles, and watches.

Persians were fascinated by these exotic cultural aspects and reinterpreted them in their own ways. For instance, by the 1590s, portraits of people in European costume (sūrat-i farangī, “European portrait”) had become a major genre. Some artists incorporated European techniques such as naturalism, perspective, and even nude figures.

Following this trend, dandies of Isfahan even dressed in be-kār­e farang, or a ‘European style.’ Wide-brimmed hat, dark-colored cloak, and doublet with ruffled collars were popular. There was even a special guild of tailors and sellers of “London clothes.” Even the ladies wore European-style dresses with tight bodices in the private quarters.

This drawing is inspired by the mid-17th-century mural of the Chehel Sotoun pavilion. In the fresco, a woman—likely a courtesan—is wearing a brown skirt, a transparent floral-patterned chemise, and a European hat. However, her reclining posture and the landscape around her are faithful to Persian miniature tradition.

The male character is based on the drawing of Riza Abbasi (1565–1635). Unlike the lady, he is dressed in more conventional local clothing of the time. His turban is wider, taller, and more loosely tied compared to the previous century. He is wearing a long, green robe (jobba) lined with dark-colored fur.

Sources

Amin, Zahra Masoudi. “Foreignization in the Miniature of School of Isfahan: A Cultural Approach.” Bagh-e Nazar Vol. 13 No. 38. 2016.

Burns, Ashley Mayeri. “The Development of the Seated Female Nude in Seventeenth-Century Safavid Painting.” MA diss., Courtauld Institute of Art.

Diba, Layla. "CLOTHING x. In the Safavid and Qajar periods." Encyclopaedia Iranica. 1992.

Emami, Farshid. “All the City’s Courtesans: A Now-Lost Safavid Pavilion and Its Figural Tile Panels.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 54. 2019.

Riza ʿAbbasi. Lovers in a Garden, ca. 1610. Seattle Art Museum.

Seated Lady in a European Hat, ca. 1647. Courtly Room of the Reception Pavillion, Chehel Sotoun