Youth in gold trousers mounted print 12” x 10”

The Chester Beatty exhibition Meeting in Isfahan explores this cosmopolitan urban centre of trade, ideas and visual culture.

This mounted print features the artwork Youth in gold trousers, by Reẓā `Abbāsī (d. 1635).  Dressed to the height of Safavid fashion, this young man is clasping a wine flask in both hands. A small cup tucks into the neckline of his shirt, and a dagger sits in the knot of his striped belt sash. His bird-patterned gold trousers, likely to be metal-brocaded silk, suggest a privileged life. Indeed the silk economy did bring prosperity to Safavid Isfahan, and many modern consumer habits as well. Reza has painted the man’s curling hair and the fur brim of his hat with remarkable lightness of touch. His signature on the lower left reads “work of the humble Reza `Abbasi”.

This window mounted print measures (including mount) 12” x 10″ or 30.3 x 25.3 cm, the print measures 22.5 x 12 cm.

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