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HaḍḍaDB

The Haḍḍa School of Art: Iconographic Markers

The donor

46 works · + 6 debated

The laypeople who sustained the monasteries: individualised faces, almost portraits. The records describe highly varied civil hairstyles: “snail-shell” curls, laurel wreaths, centre partings and disc-shaped earrings for female donors, a “local-style” turban wound around the skull of the elderly donor. The expressions are lively, from the anxious young man to the wrinkled elder.

The distinguishing marks

Each mark points to real records that describe it.

  • Realistic, individualised face, almost a portrait

    See in the database: HADB 305, HADB 320

  • Careful civil hairstyle: stylised curls, laurel wreath, centre parting

    See in the database: HADB 299, HADB 305

  • “Local-style” turban on the elderly donor

    See in the database: HADB 320

  • Disc-shaped earrings of female donors

    See in the database: HADB 299

Three works to learn to look

This female-looking figure is probably a donor. The long hair falls on either side of a median parting, covering large disc-shaped earrings. The face is soft and round. The eyes are half closed, a smile uncovers the teeth and a crease marks the neck.

This young donor wears his hair short. The treatment of the hair consists of both waves of undulating strands and simple stylized grooves that imitate them. The Hellenistic character of the face is accentuated by a worried look, the eyebrows frowning over deep-set eyes.

This elderly donor wears a turban wrapped around his head and falling down his ear. He is a local character, the turban is of the same type as that of the Afghans today. The face, treated in a realistic way, is wrinkled, the expression is worried: frowns, hollowed cheeks, half-opened mouth.

Not to be confused with

All identified works

Tapa Kalān16 works

Debated identifications

The database itself leaves these records open: their titles hesitate between several figures. They are part of the lesson: identifying means weighing clues.

This figure in the tours

Guided tours of the database include several works of this figure.

In the identification key

The observation paths that lead to this figure in the questionnaire. Each path can be replayed.

  1. Idealised and sereneCivil hairstyle: centre parting, long hair, earrings
  2. Realistic, like a portraitMoustache, shaven chinLaurel wreath, or highly stylised round curls
  3. Realistic, like a portraitMoustache, shaven chinTurban simply wound around the skull, wrinkled face
  4. Realistic, like a portraitBeardless, with a careful hairstyle