Zan-i farangi and women's agency on self-representation in Qajar Iran

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

My research project centres on the agency of women in Qajar Iran and their perception of the zan-i farangi, that is the"foreign" woman. I will research archival documents, letters and vaqfs to understand the position of women, particularly inrelation to arts patronage. I will take into consideration the representations of women on canvases, objects, lacquers andthe like to understand if women had something to say about the representation of the farangi woman, that was usuallyrepresented under sexualised lenses. Similarly, I will look at the first photographic production by women in Iran, bothforeign and not, to see how they represented themselves. The field of studies on women's patronage in Qajar Iran is not,to the best of my knowledge, greatly developed and I would like to contribute with my research as it will be useful tounderstand the position of women and their agency to better comprehend Qajar society at large and particularly the firstperiod of the dynasty, when the fascination with Western ideas and way of life started to be prominent. Indeed, thefascination with "Occidentalism" can be traced back to the Safavid period and I would like to inquire how much theSafavid representation, adoption and adaption of Western fashion and way of life had an impact on the Qajars. Myresearch will advance the decolonising process of the art historical and humanities fields as the agency of Iranian womenopposes Orientalist, Eurocentric and Colonising theories.