Identification of British figurines in miniatures by Isfahan school

In the era of Shah Abbas I of Persia, open door policy extended communication with neighboring and non-neighboring countries, then various figurines and personalitiesfrom most participators and communicatorssuch as slaves, crews, ambassadors, businessmen, travelers, doctors and artists were appeared in miniatures.
Miniaturistwere obligated to record directly and indirectly thesecommunication in their miniaturesand present the class of society through their works. Especially, miniature by Isfahan school which received a great influence of political, military and commercial events in this period, introduced a number of non-Iranian figurines. Here, particular attention was paid to British who established extensive relationships with Iran from Shah Abbas I era.
Painting as a visual media documents events and relationships, hence the review of miniatures emerge the spread of communication in cultural, social and economic directionswithin the Safavid period.
There have been many discussions and studies on the miniatures of the Safavid era, and in some cases, the influence of non-Iranians’ painting, especially European style, have been investigated. However, non-Iranian figurines in miniature of Isfahan school have not been distinctly discussed.
Although non-Iranians have been mentioned in historical books of Safavid period, identification and study of their figurines in miniatures are highly required.
This study aims to identify examples of British figurines and portrays in the miniature of Isfahan school and unveils effective factors based on components of face and clothing; accordingly, the main questions of the research are as follows:
1. How were British costumes introduced into the miniature of Isfahan school?
2. What are the facial features of British here?
In this study, the investigation strategy is descriptive-analytic and data analysis is qualitative (description and interpretation), the data base and information required are collected in the form of text readings, considering the written social history, the Safavid social and political period is discussed.
Here, miniatures of Isfahan school are selected, and by collecting cardimages, icons and portrays are classified according to qualitative criteria such as style, species and morphology (face, gesture, attire).
This paper examines first the political, military, and commercial relationships initiated at the time of Shah Abbas I till the end of Safavid era, then individually, samples of Iranian and British figurines are examined in terms of their faces and clothing in miniatures of different schools. Finally, six miniatures of Isfahan School which have been influenced by British characters and paintings, are analyzed.
Shah Abbas I and his successors welcomed British entrants to Iran. Subsequently, the British style and characteristics were gradually emerged in the miniatures of Isfahan school and influenced clearly works of some artists, then a series of human figurines went beyond the principles of their schools and included non-Iranians features which led to the emergence of specific samples.
In this period, British came to Iran more than any other European nations, and helped Safavid dynasty in military affairs, such as training the army by Robert and Anthony Shirley and expelling the Portuguese invaders from Qeshm Island. After Shah Abbas I and during his successors, relations with the Europeans were continuedand influenced greatly Iranian painting.
The observations show that works (including European with dogs from Reza Abbasi, Khosrow and Shirin meeting from Mohammad Qasim and ...) which are examined in the use of attires such as: clothes, boots and hats, have been highly affected fromstylesoffirst Elizabeth to James II era. Same asattires, facial expressionsalsoexperienced changes.
The face skinis depictedlighter than Iranian portrays, closer to palefacesin paintings of English artists. This white face was covered with short, reddened hair, which, according to the images and sources available to the Englishman, always shave their beard and mustache, adding the white face.
The face of British in most of portrayshas narrower eyes stretched more than ofIraniandepicted in miniatures.
However, in the miniatures of Isfahan School, Britishstyle influenced facial expressions less than clothing, where examples of Iranian portrayesare still dominated.
Finally, the emerge of these figurines in the miniatures of Isfahan school, the interest of artists of this period in the clothing style and modesand theirtendency to European paintings which pushed around the characteristic of Isfahan school, made European styleto take the chair from Isfahan school.