Opulent Lady

Naked courtesan, Fatimid Caliphate, late 11th century

The Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171) was a Shi'a caliphate whose seat of power was in Cairo, Egypt. At its height, they reached Tuinisia to the west, Arabia to the south, Sicily to the north, and the Levant to the east.

The art that inspired this illustration is a paper drawing currently housed in Israel Museum. It shows a nude female, holding a six-string lute in her left hand and a glass wine cup in her right. Some scholars have suggested that this drawing represents a specific courtesan who was famous at the time, while others have proposed that it is a generic representation of Venus.

Other than some jewelry, the lady is entirely nude. A narrow handband knotted on the left side holds her hair together. Four heavy hair plaits cascade down the woman's shoulders and reach her knees. However, the most impressive element of her decorations is the henna drawing on her cheeks, breasts, hands, and feet.

Henna is a dye made from the plant Lawsonia inermis. For thousands of years, it was used in West Asia, North Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. Because permanent marking of the body, such as tattooing, was proscribed by Islam (though it was still practiced by many communities), henna was used instead. Henna stains usually last for a few days before gradually wearing off over a few weeks.

The lady in this drawing has a V-shaped sign between her eyebrows and two small marks on her cheeks (a dot surrounded by a circle of dots on the right and a flame-shaped design on the left). The designs on the breasts, hands, and feet were meticulously drawn. The design on the lower abdomen is a series of short parallel lines. It's easy to confuse it with shaved pubic hair based on the drawing itself, but similar tattoos can be found in ancient Egyptian mummies and several other illuminated manuscripts from the Islamic period.

Aside from this paper drawing, this entire series of body decorations can be seen in Fatimid bone statuettes. A large number of these statuettes have been found. They are typically decorated with black pigment, depicting henna designs that are nearly identical to the drawing above.

I finished her makeup with Khol and rouge. Khol was the most common type of eye makeup used by medieval Muslims. It was used by both men and women. Rouge for rosy lips was also used. They were made with materials like pomegranate, safflower, red poppy, and red ochre. The latter, in particular, was used since ancient Egypt.

The earrings are based on the Fatimid gold earrings on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fatimid jewelry is characterized by very fine gold filigree work. During the Fatimid period, both men and women wore opulent jewelry.

The rock crystal ewer is based on the one inscribed with the name of Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz (re. 975-996), which is currently housed in the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. The flower in the pottery vase is the Antwerp hollyhock (Alcea ficifolia). The fabric hanging on the wall is based on a luster-painted bowl depicting a running hare, currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The lute (or, more appropriately, the oud) is based on the aforementioned paper drawing as well as several other medieval Islamic manuscripts. Finally, the pillow, cushion, and hanging fabrics are based on the Maqamat al-Hariri illuminated manuscript, made in the 13th century.

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Sources

· Rock crystal ewer inscribed with the name of Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz, Basilica di San Marco (late 10th century)

· Fatimid green-glazed pottery jar, Private Collection (11th century)

· Pair of Golden Earrings, Fatimid Syria, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (11th century)

· Bowl Depicting a Running Hare, Fatimid Egypt, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (early 11th century)

· Drawing of a courtesan, Fustat region, ink and colour on paper, Israel Museum (late 11th~early 12th century)

· Fatimid bone figurines, Private Collection (11~12th century)

· "Maqamat al-Hariri", Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 3929 (1240)

· D. S. Rice, ‘A Drawing of the Fatimid Period’, “Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies” Vol. 21 (1958)

· Courtney Stewart, 'Fatimid Jewelry', "Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History" (2018)

· Jonathan M. Bloom, 'Painting in the Fatimid Period: A Reconstruction', "Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society" Series 3 (2022)