Qajar Youth Seated against Cushions (pricked drawing)
19th century
Description
This drawing depicts a young man in Qajar attire leaning back against plump, tasseled cushions; a tray laden with bottles, decanters, and drinking cups is set at his feet. These forms are delineated in ink on the dark ivory paper, and additional definition is provided by traces of black chalk and by shading and line in graphite, probably added with a pencil. The principal contours of the design have been pricked with a pin. Given the absence of traces of pouncing chalk on the drawing itself, it is likely that a transparent sheet of paper was laid over it and that the pin was used to make holes in the upper sheet, along the design contours. The pricked sheet of transparent paper was then laid on another sheet of paper and a pounce bag full of powdered chalk or charcoal tapped over it. When the transparent sheet was removed, particles of chalk or charcoal remained on the paper beneath and served as a guide for drawing the lines in a permanent medium, thus accomplishing the transfer of the original design. After serving its preliminary purpose, this drawing was mounted on an album page assembled from strips of colored papers and fragments of Persian poetry.
Dimensions
27.4 x 20.2 cm (10 13/16 x 7 15/16 in.)
Provenance
[Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, Sale 3948, 1977, lot 123], sold; to Stanford and Norma Jean Calderwood, Belmont, MA (1977-2002), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2002.
Related Artworks
View MoreBrown ink on off-white modern laid paper; pricked and verso rubbed with red chalk (recto)
19th centuryPersianBlack and red inks, watercolor, and gold on off-white paper (recto); Watercolor on off-white wove paper, toned orange-pink wash (verso)
19th centuryPersianTop: black counterproof on off-white wove paper; Top verso: black counterproof on off-white wove paper; Bottom: green and brown inks over traces of graphite on off-white laid paper; ink and opaque watercolor on paper (recto)
19th centuryPersianTop: black counterproof on off-white modern laid paper; Bottom: black counterproof, blue ink and graphite on beige Eastern (?) paper
19th centuryPersianLeft: red ink on off-white modern laid paper; pricked and rubbed with red chalk; Middle: brown ink on off-white wove paper; Middle verso: brown ink and watercolor, Right: red and blue-black inks on off-white modern laid paper; pricked and rubbed with red chalk (recto)
19th centuryPersianRelief monoprint on off-white glossy coated wove paper
19th centuryPersianBrown ink and gold ruling lines on off-white wove paper (recto); Note: drawing mounted overall with colored paper borders (recto); Graphite on off-white wove paper; pricked (verso)
19th centuryPersianRed ink on off-white modern laid paper; pricked and verso rubbed with red chalk (recto); Black ink and black counterproof on off-white modern laid paper, with gold and ink margin lines; pricked and verso rubbed with red chalk (verso)
19th centuryPersianTop: red ink over graphite on off-white wove paper (recto); Top: black ink; Middle: red ink over graphite on off-white wove paper; Bottom: red ink over graphite on off-white wove paper (verso)
19th centuryPersianInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
19th centuryPersianInk, opaque watercolor and gold on paper
18th-19th centuryPersianRed ink over graphite on beige wove paper; burnished (recto); Top: red and red-brown inks over graphite on off-white wove paper; pricked and rubbed with red chalk; Bottom: red-brown ink over graphite on off-white wove paper (verso)
19th centuryPersian