Though a few examples of oil-on-canvas paintings survive from Iran prior to the nineteenth century, opaque watercolor was the dominant medium for paintings, most often found in manuscript illustration. It was under Qajar rule (1789 to 1925) that oil painting in Iran blossomed to become a common medium, usually embellishing the walls of reception halls in residences and pavilions with portraits or episodes from oft-recited tales, like the one here. In this oil painting, a scene plays out from the story of “Shaykh San‘an and the Christian Maiden,” recounted in Farid al-Din ‘Attar’s (d. ca. 1221) Mantiq al-Tayr, or Conference of the Birds. Shaykh San‘an kneels to drink an illicit cup of wine offered by the Christian maiden, much to the shock of those surrounding them. One devout man in the background, likely a follower of the shaykh, even raises his index finger to his lips in surprise.

In ‘Attar’s telling of the tale, a Sufi shaykh falls madly in love with a Christian maiden. Yet she continuously tests his devotion with numerous scandalous and demeaning requests that lead him to renounce his faith. Some of his tests included bowing before idols, becoming a swineherd, and drinking wine. Only after these humiliations does he demonstrate the highest form of love befitting a true Sufi. His renewed faith subsequently inspires the Christian maiden to convert to Islam. The wine scene became particularly popular among Qajar artists, who adapted it to fit numerous media, including lacquer and ceramic. From penboxes and mirror cases, to tiles on residential walls, the scene permeated Qajar visual culture. Various renderings of this scene appear in a nineteenth-century artists’ workshop album, which aided in transferring designs across media like those mentioned above.

This oil painting with titular shaykh on his knees may have drawn inspiration from an earlier composition in opaque watercolor by the Safavid painter Muhammad Zaman (active 1640s-c. 1700). The costumes and rendering of the figures in this version correspond to the style of the early Qajar period during the reign of Fath Ali Shah (r. 1797-1834). Analogs to the Christian maiden’s gown appear in other contemporaneous oil paintings of harem musicians. Small material details also aid in placing the scene in the Qajar material world. For instance, the wine bottle held by the Christian maiden features similar designs to enamelled glass wine flasks of the same period. The background further situates the scene within a vaulted structure found in numerous urban buildings, including elite homes, during the early decades of Qajar rule.