Self-portrait of the Painter Husayn

A polylobed medallion in the center of this tile holds a bust-length portrait of a painter named Husayn, also known as Ustad Husayn Kashi Saz, a known master tilemaker at the end of the Qajar era in Tehran. Split-leaf scrolls fill the corners, and a fruiting grape vine runs along the cavetto of the cornice. Following the fashion of the late Qajar period, the artist wears a black astrakhan cap and a close-fitting frock coat with upstanding collar. He is at work on a painting whose composition closely echoes the tile itself. The tile is molded, with the split-leaf scrolls and medallion border raised in relief. The predominant color is purplish-brown, with touches of pale orange.