Album of Fingernail Artwork
19th century
Description
This codex-format album consists of 19 relief images created by the pressure of the artist’s fingernail on paper (san`at-i nākhun). Specimens include calligraphic, floral, and figural compositions. Many of the pages form double-page spreads, as indicated in list of folios below. 1 Pink flyleaf, recto: owner’s inscription with date 1284 H / 1867-68 CE 2 Pink flyleaf (blank) 3 verso: Couplet of Persian poetry written diagonally in nasta`liq script Forms double page with 4 recto 4 recto: Persian Poetry written in shikasta script Forms double page with 3 verso 5 verso: Qur’an 25:35 (Aya al-Nur), beginning to middle of verse Forms double page with 6 recto 6 recto: Pious Text in Arabic Forms double page with 5 verso 7 recto: Undeciphered text in highly stylized script 8 verso: Vase with Flowers 9 verso: Qajar Youth Kneeling with Waterpipe Forms double page with 10 recto 10 recto: Qajar Man with Seated Against Cushion Forms double page with 9 verso 11 verso: Woman in European Garments Forms double page with 12 recto 12 recto: Man in European Garments Forms double page with 11 verso 13 verso: Rooster Forms double page with 14 recto 14 recto: Phoenix Forms double page with 13 verso 15 recto: Calligraphic Composition of Persian Poetry 16 verso: Three Partially Clad European Woman 17 verso: Bird Perched on a Flowering Prunus Branch 18 verso: A Man on Horseback Bending Downward to Grasp the Horns of a Gazelle Forms double page with 19 Recto 19 recto: An Emaciated Nag and a Fatted Cow Forms double page with 18 verso 20 recto: Floral design with Birds and Fish 21 recto: Seated Courtier Holding a Sword 22 Pink flyleaf (blank)
Dimensions
20 x 13.5 cm (7 7/8 x 5 5/16 in.)
Provenance
Ezzat-Malek Soudavar, Geneva, Switzerland (by 2014), by descent; to her son Abolala Soudavar, Houston, Texas (2014), loan; to Harvard Art Museums, 2015. Note: Ezzat-Malek Soudavar (1913-2014) formed this collection over a period of sixty years. She purchased the works of art on the international art market.
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