The Qajar Painting Collection at Leiden University Libraries: The Bazaar's Splendour

The Special Collections of Leiden University Libraries hosts a spectacular collection from Albertus Paulus Hermanus Hotz (1855-1930), a Dutch businessman who traded with Persia between 1874 and 1903 via his company in Rotterdam. Throughout his travels, Hotz amassed extensive collections of artworks, books, and archival materials. Portions of his collection were donated to the Leiden University Library by his family in 1935 and 1994. The latter donation included a substantial collection of 247 paintings on paper, which is the subject of this book. These paintings offer an exceptional panorama of Persian life during the Qajar period (1789-1925), encompassing ceremonies, entertainment, professions, the legal system and medical care. This book is the first to provide an in-depth study and comprehensive catalogue of this collection. It thus provides valuable insights for the researchers, particularly art historians and art connoisseurs of Persian paintings, as well as for historians of Dutch-Persian relations.