Charles-Théodore Frère

(French, 1814-1888)

The Tomb of Esther and Mordechai, Hamadan, Iran, with the Alvand range of the Zagros Mountains in the distance

Footnotes

Provenance
Commissioned by John Osmaston and thence by descent to the current owners.


The painting offered here is an extremely rare early view in Iran and depicts a specific incident on the travels of John Osmaston (nee Wright) (1831-1901), a journey recorded in his book Old Ali; or, Travels Long Ago (London, 1881). Grief stricken by the death of his wife during child birth in 1860, Osmaston decided to embark on this trip.

"My Travels through the countries of Norway, Sweden, Russia, Persia, Babylonia, Assyria, and Asia Minor, were made during the latter part of the year 1860 and beginning of 1861, occupying a period of about eight months, a journey of eleven thousand miles." p. 1.

On horseback, and carrying little but a money belt and his five-chambered revolver, Osmaston embarked on his journey. Along the way, he encountered a whole host of characters including the Governor of the Volga Steamer Company, a prince and Khan in Tehran and the Turkish Pasha in Baghdad. He managed to navigate this route with the help of guides along the way, the most notable of which would be Ali, the same as that of the book title. Ali, actually named Agha Baba, would accompany him on the most dangerous leg of the journey, from Tehran to Baghdad and on through the Ottoman Empire.

Clearly impressed by the landscape, Osmaston describes in detail his visit to the city of Hamadan, paying particular attention to his account of the mountain surrounds that one can see captured in Frère's painting:

"just as the sun rose, a splendid view was opened up to us... the mighty snow mountains tinted pink in the sun's rays close before us. It was exceedingly beautiful. [...] the mountains looking very remarkable in their icy covering, being curiously divided into an exact half by the snow-line; the upper half, in its mantle of white, the very picture of cold; the lower half, in its mantle of brown, hot-looking tawny, and bare." p. 337.

Shortly after, he goes on to describe his visit to the Tomb of Esther and Mordecai:

"The spot is a grand one, with the simple tomb in the foreground: the eye looks over a mud wall and a few paltry mud roofs and chimneys, and then rests on the magnificent snow mountains, of which the highest, the jagged tops of Alvend, have always snow in their deepest recesses. [...] A tall, old Israelite, with a long, white beard that had seen seventy summers at least... led us in through a low doorway. [...] We squeezed through, passing into a small cell, and then, stooping very low, almost crept into another. This was under the dome. And here stood two wooden sarcophagi, one in memory of Esther, the other of Mordecai" p. 339-340.

Although Charles-Théodore Frère built his career as an orientalist painter capturing the landscape and people of the middle east and North Africa, he in fact never travelled as far as Iran. This work will therefore be based on sketches and descriptions provided by Osmaston, and when reading his account of the area in his book, one can see the clear connection between this and the painting. The painting would have been commissioned by Osmaston upon his return from his travels, presumably as he was so taken by the landscape. Upon writing his book some 20 years after the journey's end, he also had the Frère engraved so that it might accompany the text.