Madonna and Child with Angel, signed [Muhammad] Sadiq, Persia, Qajar, dated 1240 AH/1824-25

oil on canvas, inscribed and signed 'Sadiq' in white nasta'liq at the bottom right corner

Sold in these rooms, 27 April 1994, lot 109

N. Brosh and R. Milstein, Biblical Stories in Islamic Painting, Jerusalem, 1991, p.119, no.43

In generally good overall condition, relined and laid on board, old repairs at top corners indicate the painting was originally arch-shaped, as viewed.
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inscriptions

At bottom right corner:  
shode ahya az dame Isah Maryam
'from Jesus's breath, Maryam's soul was fulfilled"

This unique Qajar group portrait depicts a biblical scene. The Virgin Mary holds the infant Jesus, who holds a sprig of narcissus in his left hand.  To the left kneels Saint John, offering an apple. Mary has an archetypal Persian rose in her hair and wears a floral decorated dress, the style of which coincides with the period preceding 1820, necessitating the reading of the date as 1240 rather than 1204.

This work illustrates the European influence manifested in the work of Muhammad Sadiq. The use of a building, pillar and greenery to enhance perspective are stylistic imports from eighteenth century European painting, particularly Italian landscapes and rural scenes, which were popular at the time.

Muhammad Sadiq, a pupil of Muhammad 'Ali Ashraf, was a skilled fresco painter and his involvement in the interior decoration of the Shiraz pavilion led to a distinctive development in his compositions, whereby he started to create works which were inserted into architectural niches in buildings. For one of his finest court paintings, see a portrait of Rustam Khan Zand sold in these rooms 9 October 2013, lot 99.