Album of Flower Paintings
ca. 1880
Medium
Ink on paper
Dimensions
H. 10 in. (25.4 cm) W. 8 in. (20.3 cm)
Classification
Codices
Department
Islamic Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, 2017 NoRuz at The Met Benefit, 2018
Accession Number
2018.73
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Islamic Art galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we present the enchanting *Album of Flower Paintings* by Fathallah Shirazi, created around 1880. This intimate codex, measuring 10 by 8 inches, features delicate ink drawings on paper, capturing the timeless beauty of floral motifs in the Persian artistic tradition. Shirazi, hailing from the cultural hub of Shiraz, Iran, exemplifies the refined draftsmanship of the late Qajar era, a period when album-making flourished as a way to compile prized artworks. In 19th-century Persia, such albums—known as *muraqqa'*—served...