Armenian Portraits Rehung at Windsor Castle
September 23 2021
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
The Royal Collection Trust have shared news that two recently conserved portraits by 17th-century Armenian artist Marcos have been rehung in the King's Dining Room at Windsor Castle. The portraits were last recorded as hanging there during the 1870s.
According to the post:
The striking portraits depict a member of the military aristocracy and an unmarried woman from New Julfa, the Armenian district of Isfahan, which was the cosmopolitan capital of Persia in the 17th century. Paintings of this style are known to have hung in the houses of Isfahan’s wealthy merchant classes.
The figures are dressed in luxurious fabrics including Persian silks, which the Armenians of Isfahan famously traded across the globe. Both portraits include European details, such as a Venetian wine glass, a German clock and Dutch flowers, signifying affluence through access to luxury international commodities.
