A Lady Holding a Carafe, signed by Mohammad Yusuf, Persia, Isfahan, dated 1052 AH/1642 AD

Ink heightened with gold on paper, with sparse use of colour, depicting a standing figure in a robe decorated with a dense ground of chinoiserie cloud bands, with long braided hair, holding a bottle in her left hand and a shallow cup in her right, within a landscape with leafy plants, trees on low hills in the distance, with wispy clouds filling the sky

In good overall condition, a few very minor stains around the face and hands, otherwise clean, as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Following in the style of Reza-i Abbasi (d.1635), alongside contemporaries such as Muhammad Qasim, Muhammad Yusuf al-Husayni (d.1666) was one of the foremost artists of seventeenth-century Persia. The early part of his career was spent in Herat under the patronage of Hassan Shamlu, but after his death he moved to Isfahan, where he produced drawings and paintings of outstanding draughtmanship. Typical of his style is a bright palette, and the depiction of graceful, tall figures with well-proportioned faces.

A lady in a similar pose, holding a cup and bottle within a landscape, was included in the Exhibition of Persian Art held at Burlington House, January - March 1931 (published in Binyon et al 1933, p.177, no.368). Furthermore, the chinoiserie cloud band decoration of the present figure's robe can be seen in two other miniatures: one signed and dated 1655-6 in the State Hermitage Museum (see Adamova 1996, p.218-9, no.19) and the other depicting an embracing couple attributed to Muhammad Yusuf in the Bibliotèque Nationale (see Blochet 1921, pl.LI). 

In addition to the present drawing, the following are known signed and attributed works of Muhammad Yusuf:

1. A Youth with a Jacket, Smithsonian (586.0302), published in Lowry & Beach, 1988, no.375
2. A Lute Player, ex-Minassian Collection, loan exhibition, Hartford, Conn., 1925, no.16
3. A Youth Seated Under a Tree, signed and dated 1637, Private Coll., London, published in Robinson 1976, p.86, pl.56
4. A Sheikh and Courtesan, signed and dated 1068 AH/1658 AD  in a muraqqa' folio, kept at  the Oriental Studies Institute of Saint Petersburg (D-181, f.6r).  
5. An Old Man Leaning on a Staff, signed and dated 1646, MFA Boston (14.642), MFA Bulletin, Vol.XIII (Feb 1915), No.74.1-16 and again in Coomaraswamy 1929, pl.LI, no.926 and Soudavar 1992, p.263, fig.44. 
6. A Standing Young Men, signed, MFA Boston (14.637), MFA Bulletin, Vol.XIII (Feb 1915), No.74.1-16, and again in Coomaraswamy 1929, pl.LI, no.93 
7. A Persian Lady, Dawud Coll., published in Binyon et al 1933, p.177, no.368
8. A Young Man Standing, signed, MAH, Geneva (1971.107/81), published in Robinson 1992, p.153, no.277.
9. A Seated Young Man, signed, ex-Gonse Coll., The Louvre (MAO 836), published in Melikian-Chirvani 2007, pp.388-9, no.145
10. An Old Man, signed and dated 1645, published in Martin 1912, pl.166
11. Head of a Dervish, published in Martin 1912, pl.166
12. Khamsa of Nizami, Bibliotèque Nationale de France (Sup.Persan 1908, f.53)
13. An Embracing Couple, Bibliotèque Nationale de France (Arabe 6074, f.5r), published in Blochet 1921, pl.LI
14. Diwan of Hafiz, signed and dated 1640 (TKS H.1010), two miniatures including f.79a
15. Shahnameh, diverse artists, signed on folio 320v, Windsor Castle Royal Library (MS Holmes 151 (A/6), published in B. W. Robinson, The Burlington Magazine, Vol.110, no.780 (March 1968), pp.131-140
16. A Bearded Man Seated, signed, Iran Bastan Museum (No.4036), published in Melikian-Chirvani 2007, p.410, no.155
17. A Dervish with a Rosary, signed, The State Hermitage Museum (Inv.no.VP 740/XXV), published in London 2004, p.127, no.77
18. A Youth with a Wine Cup, signed, The State Hermitage Museum (Inv.no.VP 739), published in Adamova 1996, p.218-9, no.19  
19. Lovers, Pierpont Morgan LIbrary (M.385.15), published in Gray 1977, p.169
20. Khosrow-Sultan Holding a Falcon, Art & History Trust Coll., published in Soudavar 1992, p.294-5, no.122