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Journalism of Courage
In 1598,the Iranian emperor,Shah Abbas,moved his capital to Isfahan. Eager both to demonstrate and to enhance his power,he set about enlarging and embellishing it in an extravagant fashion. Isfahan soon became one of the most beautiful and cosmopolitan of cities,where foreigners and non-Muslims alike were welcomed. In the same year it became a capital,Robert Shirley,an 18-year-old Englishman,arrived in Iran. The ambitions of these two men,one the ruler of his country,the other a junior partner in a team of English soldier-adventurers,soon intersected.
Within a decade,Shirley had married a Circassian Christian,Teresia,and set off with her to Europe on a series of diplomatic missions in the service of the shah. Their purpose was twofold: Abbas hoped to gain allies for his struggles against the encroaching Ottoman Turks and also to build up Iran8217;s silk trade. The Shirleys8217; sales efforts were helped by the splendour of their dress,advertising the most opulent Iranian fabrics. His outfit,a gift from Shah Abbas,was like an Isfahan grandee8217;s ceremonial uniform,topped by a turban bigger than his head. Her gowns were in the fashion favoured by her English contemporaries.
Seeing all four paintings allows the viewer to fill in gaps. The Van Dycks show how enticing the Shirleys must have looked to the English whose support they were after. The anonymous portraits,in turn,reveal why Iranian silks were so sought after in the West. Van Dyck was able to get across the luxuriousness,romance and richness of the silken clothes without occupying himself with reproducing them in detail. Look where you will,the point is made,for the silks were crucially important. Silk was exchanged for gold and silver with which Shah Abbas paid for Isfahan. It paid,also,for the lavish gifts he gave to Iran8217;s most holy Shia shrines,the foundation on which a unified Iran was built.
The Economist Newspaper Limited 2009
