Ali Asghar Kashani a painter who was the father of the
Persian Master Āqā Riżā Kāshānī i.e. Reza Abbasi. Ali Asghar was a good artist
but he never received the acclaim of his son or as some of his contemporaries.
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| Ali Asghar, Gooy-o-Chowgun |
As we can see in this image Ali Asghar painted in a less refined almost provincial style. The rocky hill dominates the field in the style of Shiraz with the man mostly hidden behind it. This was a shortcut used by Shirazi painters to save time. Additionally the plants springing from under rocks is also do in the Shiraz style. I Shiraz the plant may blossom up or down from the rock while in Tabriz in this time period blossoms go up not down. This piece is clearly from the reign of Shah Tahmasp but the polo player is neither a prince nor a Kizilbash. If this were in the Tabriz style the riders turban would have a Red Taj possible with royal feathers and the horses bridal might also have been decorated.
Besides fathering Aqa Riza he is perhaps best remembered for
a salacious and outrageous scandal which rocked the Persian court. Shah Tahmasp
availed himself with the sexual pleasure of beardless boys. His favorite boy-toy
was the son of the Court Surgeon. This in itself was quite normal and not a
scandal in that place and time. What really cause the problem was that Ali
Asghar fell madly in love with the Shah’s Cup Bearer and attempted to run off
to India with him. Being an exceptional artist forging the seal of Shah Tahmasp
was no great difficulty. Off Ali Asghar the boy and another artist fled towards
the Mughal Border. Even with the forged letter of Transit they were caught and
returned to face the wrath of an angry Shah. Tahmasp allowed the boy’s father
to choose the punishment. The sentence was loss of his nose and both ears. I
have often wondered if the father a surgeon preformed the amputations personally.
It came to pass that Ali Asghar’s nickname was “stump ear”.
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