Woman playing a <i>kamānchah</i>
1800
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1800
oil
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
You see a woman seated sideways, her fingers dancing over a bowed string instrument called a *kamānchah*. She wears a long dress and a headscarf, the red fabric bright against the plain background. The painting is small—just a foot high—but the figure fills the frame. This probably came from a palace wall in Tehran. Back in the 1800s, the Shah’s artists painted big, flat figures like this one. They were meant to decorate royal rooms, not hang in a gallery. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more like it.
