Qajar Religious Painting under the Impact of Western Culture (Case Study: A Lacquer Mirror Case by Mohammad-Esma’il Esfahani, the Chief Painter)

The Qajar dynasty came to power in 1785 and ruled until 1925. During this last phase of traditional Persian history, succeeding shahs tried to change the isolationist stance of the country by expanding cultural and economic interchange with the West. The 19th century was marked by continual unrest, caused by tribal groups competing for power. Foreign encroachment also contributed to conflicts. By mid-century, Persia had again become a crossroads to the East, because European colonialism demanded short routes to the Orient for explorers, archeologists, soldiers, scholars, pilgrims, tourists, writers, painters and photographers. It was under this dynasty that art flourished in a different way.
Under the Qajar dynasty the best miniature painting is usually found not in the illustration of manuscripts, as in the earlier periods of the art, but in the decoration of objects in lacquered papier-mache. This art reached a high state of development under Fath Ali Shah, but the best works produced under Naser al-Din Shah in the middle years of the 19th century was perhaps even finer. During this century lacquer wares were one of the most important forms of decorative art produced in Iran. Their importance is reflected in the sheer quantity of items that were made, and in the dynamism with which the decoration of lacquer wares developed. Actually, the lacquer wares produced in early Qajar looks very different from those in later times throughout the whole century, especially from the Nasseri period on. It can hardly be doubted that the lacquer of the early Qajar period was to a large extent a continuation of the traditions established in the late Safavid, Afshar and Zand periods. The repertory of 18th century lacquer decoration included figural, floral and flower-and-bird themes, illumination and calligraphy; however, this visual tradition inclined towards more realistic subject matters with an emphasis on portraiture, most specifically depicting the portraits of kings, princes, officials and dignitaries.
Appropriation of western cultural achievements is considered as a main feature of Qajar art manifested in almost all artistic media. Western art and its cultural elements are so broad in extent that they have even exerted their influence over the creation of native, religious and folk art in Iran, especially the lacquer works. The art of lacquer painting underwent drastic changes and development during the Qajar period and different themes were introduced, including the religious portraiture. Preserved at the Bern Museum with a religious theme and the depiction of holly Shiite imams, the lacquer mirror case by Mohammad-Esma’il Esfahani (1871) is a case to be studied in the field of Europeanization and its manifestation in a traditional framework. Conducted in analytical-descriptive methodology with the aim of reassessing and analyzing western artistic elements in a traditional Qajar lacquer work, the present essay has been done in three levels, i.e. visual structure, theme and subject, and non-native influences. The results demonstrate that the mirror case has adopted some foreign elements from the West, the most evident of which are “mandorla” or almond-shaped aureola, “altarpiece” structure and “Rococo” ornaments.