Estate Sale Score - Tell Me More!

May 13, 2018 8:13 AM

Tell me more about the two, fetching equestrian paintings I bought at an estate sale. They are about 12x16 inches each, appear to be painted on glass panels, and have a little bit of writing in a language that I don’t know (but I would guess Arabic or Urdu). [pic1] [pic2]

I would also love to be pointed in the direction of other resources, or more info.

Here’s what we know:
- they were originally owned by a US diplomatic courier who appeared to have traveled or lived in Israel.

- they both have labels on the reverse from a Jahan Brothers Framing in Jerusalem. [Pic]

- I used to live in India, and the style looks much more like stuff I’ve seen there than stuff I’ve seen in Israel.

Full pictures of both paintings are here: [1] [2]

posted by eulily to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

Best answer: I can't tell you much about the art itself, but the Arabic writing says "Antar ibn Shaddad" on the painting of the man, and "Abla bint Malik" on the painting of the woman. A quick google says Antar was a poet in pre-Islamic Arabia, and Abla was his cousin, whom he loved. (ibn = son of; bint = daughter of)
posted by philotes at 10:39 AM on May 13, 2018

Best answer: Antar ibn Shaddad was a knight as well as a poet; to win the right to marry Abla, he undertook a series of dramatic and adventuresome quests. It's a romantic and chivalrous tale, and has inspired later poets and storytellers -- it occupies a cultural place not dissimilar to that of Arthurian romance. Here is one (kind of Orientalist) telling, although traditionally the tale was told aloud. It's been made into a film at least once, too.

Antar and Abla are often depicted in paintings and illustrated manuscripts together on horseback, and I suspect your pieces are modern copies done in this older style. Here's an example, reverse-painted on glass. The cover art for the Westernised novel (circa 1978) is also similar in style. They would be an appealing subject for tourist-market art, so tracking down a specific artist or even tying your pieces to a specific place/time might be difficult.
posted by halation at 12:45 PM on May 13, 2018 [1 favorite]