Recognizing the Representation of Women’s motif in the Qalamdan of Kazem Son of Najaf Ali, A Qajar Artist, Sold at the Chiswick Auction

 
Apart from the artistic and historical aspect, the works of art tell the transmission of cultural traditions and various cases in different periods. The study of these works can be examined in the field of depictions of women in the representation of women, the way they are covered and made up, and it is important for its conceptual and symbolic, decorative and visual features. Calligraphy, which flourished mostly in the Qajar period, is important in terms of artistic style and representation of women in a European way, and it is a suitable field for studies of changes in the recognition of visual characteristics, recognition of cultural changes, and the European representation of women of this period. The purpose of this research is to investigate and analyse the portraits of Qajar women and the female gaze as a part of the performance of the representation of women in the culture of  Qajar period. The study sample of this research is a qalamdan belonging to Kazem son of Najaf Ali, the Qajar calligrapher, sold in the Chiswick auction, which contains several women in the frame, and from this point of view, it is considered special and has a feminine attitude. The level of female gaze action among the elements of the western image in connection with other symbols such as gol-o morgh has a different meaning. The connection between the elements in the image of the qalamdan and the woman's, body shows the western cultural developments and the semantic view of women. The question of this research is how the female subject is represented in this lacquered qalamdan by Kazem son of Najaf Ali and what does it mean? The research method in this research is descriptive and analytical, using library sources and examining a museum sample of qalamdan, sold at the Chiswick auction in London, and it is a qualitative research. The results of this research show that the female subject is represented with European makeup and clothing and can be seen in frames surrounded by gol-o morgh Motifs. Women in this qalamdan and in the frames are depicted individually and as two people in separate frames. The most important feature of this frame is the bold presence of women in light frames on a dark background for emphasis. The desire for cultural changes and deconstruction in the representation of women is represented in the picture frames.
The representation of women in the case study shows that due to cultural interactions, authentic Iranian arts have also been affected and western patterns have been implemented in these images. In the drawing of figures in Iranian pencil cases, the main characters are depicted in specific frames. Anthropocentrism and emphasis on the physical beauty of women can be examined in these images. The representation of women in this collection is important in the sense that it is a mixture of several types of paintings in a row, portrait painting and painting of gol-o morgh, the effects of western painting in the representation of women are influenced by western culture in makeup and clothing. It is one of the cultural and social developments of the Qajar period. The portrait of young women is placed as the most important part in the connection between the images and the background painting of Qalamdan. The human presence of women as a part of decorative arts in the Qajar period is the main focus of the painting of the Qajar period and is in connection with the art of Qajar court painting. Two portraits of women (picture 2) completely shows the characteristics of a portrait of a Qajar woman in European clothes. Well-groomed women who have done their hair and neck in a western style and are far away from the traditional woman represented in the pictures. A semi-open western dress that belongs to the aristocracy and shows the changes of a court woman influenced by western culture. Women's hair decorated with flowers is a symbol of beauty and elegance, women in these two main figures are considered a symbol of Western European culture. The women in these pictures as an active agent are a strong reflection of the social and cultural changes of the Qajar period, unlike the dance of the two genders, male and female, two females are dancing with each other, and the women's clothes have complementary colors and remind of the symbolic interaction. There is a proportionality between the portrait of the woman and its framing, the confinement of the woman in the limited framing space around it refers to the inner space of the house. These frames show a feminine space decorated with gol-o morgh around the frame.
The painting around the space of the female frame encloses it and covers the charm of the female space. The dark colors make the display of the frame stand out and emphasize a nostalgic aspect of the paradise garden in the past and tradition. The space of qalmadan is surrounded by flowers and bushes and paintings of flowers and chickens, but basically these motifs are in the background and only women's faces stand out in the frame of the picture. The portrait of the women is located in the middle of the longitudinal and transverse frames, and the form of the placement of the frames is the direction of balance and their focus towards the frames of the women's faces. The background is painted almost dark and has colours that make the frames with bright colours more visible and more prominent to show the presence of female faces. The use of gol-o morgh in the court painting of the Qajar period in combination with painting of women is usual in Qajar paintings. In these female images, there is an authoritative look, unlike the court portrait female paintings, there is no staring at the audience, and the women’s three-quarter profile are drawn looking at the outer space or looking at each other in the main frame. The two portraits in the frame indicate the relationship between the body space and the gol-o morgh space around the female figures. The image of women in the frame is like a window or a window that is opened to the outside world. The young women's heads are turned towards each other. In the main frame, two women are staring at each other and are dancing and holding each other's hands, which reminds of a man and a woman and two lovers in western dance, but in this picture, two women are in each other's arms. And the man, according to the changes in the cultural context of Qajar painting, creates a mutual and opposite exchange of action, which shows the two lovers looking at each other in the woman's view in the picture frame, and actually creates a kind of break and violates all the laws of the past, and departs from the traditional view and represents a break with social traditions in all social cultural components in Qajar art. The woman is on the verge of entering a new space and world, and her body is in a break with the female limitations within the frame, which is represented differently and tries to show its change. It is the process of looking out of the frame of a woman. The presence of the female body in the image framing is the main theme and invites the audience from the outside into the image frame and the female world of the work. With the image of three frames of a woman, two women dancing with each other and in each other's arms, with western clothes and make-up, this frame represents a different gender identity and independence for Qajar women, and in the hidden layers of the meaning of the image, western cultural changes and depicts its influence in the Qajar world. In these frames, the woman shows her suspended state of presence and absence. A woman by the window, between being and not being enclosed in a frame and changing, shows the passing of traditions and entering the new world influenced by western culture. A woman is trying to find her identity and independence, breaking away from the traditional world of court women and trying to get out of the frame of the picture, the manifestation of the function of the female space dominates the whole representation of women in the picture, and in the frames of qalmadan, she shows herself individually and in pairs. The nature and structure of an image of the presence of women influenced by Iranian culture (gol-o morgh painting) and western painting (influenced by western makeup and clothing) shows a different genre of the presence of women in this collection, which shows the independent identity of women in the Qajar period and changes it reminds. The images that break the contrast with the traditional feminine space more than ideal feminine beauty.
The portrait of young women with open and western clothes in this collection can be considered a powerful representation of women in the Qajar period and the attempt to change the space from inside to outside and to find a new identity. This qalamdan shows the way of female representation and western influences on its surface, which actually indicates the ideological and cultural functions of the Qajar society inside and inside it in a hidden way. The structural and formal connection of women in the picture frames, the connection with the painting space of gol-o morgh, the representation of a bird (morgh) looking at a flower bud (gol) can be a metaphor for the male gaze. The woman looks out of the window frame, the vast space that exists outside the feminine enclosed frame. The relation that has been created between the elements of gol-o morgh painting, the presence of women in the picture frames, reminds us of the relationship between Iranian and European meaning of women's world. The image of a woman between Iranian and European women, the feminine attitude about the qalamdan as the main subject in the image space is one of these. Framing around women is a metaphor of the outside world that women consciously tend to change like western clothes. All these concepts are signs of the changes in women's thinking in the Qajar period arising from social changes, the influence of Western culture in social studies, which has shown itself in the interpretation. It shows a different meaning in the eyes of women, which can be seen in the faces of these women on qalamdan. In studying the shape of the part where the ink is stored in the pencil case, it can be mentioned that it is made of silver and is in the shape of a fly, which is very realistic and drawn in detail.
Applying a different space to women compared to previous works in the form of qalamdan is one of the important points in the study of this one. The effects of European culture in the painting of this painting can be seen in the framing and the way women are represented in their facial appearance, make-up and clothing, which was considered by the illustrator. The use of dark colours has tried to create a visual dimension in the picture frame and emphasize the subject of women in the picture frames. The painting has separate frames showing women as the main elements in the image. Paying attention to women's body and drawing its features, paying attention to the placement of women in the image frame, emphasizing human physical beauty and focusing on women as the main and central motifs, the central body in these paintings can be investigated. The nature and structure of qalamdan influenced by Iranian culture in the representation of women shows a different view of women, which reminds the independent female identity of the Qajar period. The images that, more than women's beauty and having the ideal face of women, break the confrontation with the male world and the desire to change it. The framed faces of young women in European clothes and naked in the upper part of the body can be considered as an attempt to change the inner space as an open space for women and to try to get out of the safe space and to find an identity. The way women are represented in this book and the display of western influences indicate the functions of ideological and cultural changes in the Qajar society. The structural and formal relationship of women in multiple frames of the image is related to the outer space. The woman looks out of the window frame from the inner and closed space, her gaze is on the vast space that is depicted outside the female enclosed frame. The relationship between the elements of gol-o morgh painting, the presence of women in the picture frames, reminds us of the connection between the Iranian and European forms of women. The Iranian-European woman and the feminine look at the space of this qalamdan reminds of the changing space and transformation of women in the Qajar period and the desire to break the framing space around women, all these concepts can be signs of changes in the world of women, not only in makeup, and cover. The representation of women in the frames of this book originated from social developments, the influence of western culture in the social demands of women, which is represented in the image and its components.