Tile with a youth

This tile showing a young man against a yellow ground, once formed part of a larger composition intended for a garden pavilion in the city of Isfahan, where its bright colours would have shimmered in the natural light. Wearing a flowered coat with a crinkled scarf at his shoulders and a fur-lined hat, from which a lock of hair escapes, this beautiful youth is one of the many nobles that populate these tiled scenes of courtly entertainment, showing conversation, poetry readings, refreshments, and relaxation.

The sinuous line capturing the youth’s elongated figure and tilted head, leaning towards the focus of the scene, reflects the influence of the celebrated Isfahani master, Riza ‘Abbasi (c. 1565–1635) and his followers. Clouds in the sky above, and the choice of yellow for the background, over white or blue seen in other panels, possibly reflects a particular time of the day, perhaps sunset.