Women Studies

Women Studies

The Representation of Non-Aristocratic Women in the Art of the Zand Era: An Analysis of Visual Characteristics and Social Implications Based on Stuart Hall's Theory of Representation

Document Type : -

Authors
Ph.D. Candidate of Comparative and Analytical History of Islamic Arts, Faculty of Arts, Alzahra University; Tehran, Iran
10.30465/ws.2025.51715.4380
Abstract
Prior scholarship on women of the Zand period has predominantly been confined to historical aspects, offering limited insight into the social existence of non-aristocratic women. Consequently, the visual conventions governing the representation of this social group in the art of the period have remained unexamined. This research aims to identify the appearance characteristics of non-aristocratic women in Zand-era paintings and to analyze the correlation between these features and their social stratification. The primary research question is: what pictorial conventions governed the representation of non-aristocratic women in the art of the Zand era? Employing a qualitative, descriptive-analytical methodology and drawing on library-based data, this study conducts a content analysis of fifteen selected artworks from the Zand period. The analysis is grounded in Stuart Hall's theory of representation and a constructionist approach, wherein physical features (facial details, attire, and spatial positioning) are treated as "visual signifiers" that actively produce social meaning. The findings reveal a dualistic system of conventions: youth, adornment, and the three-quarter profile are employed as signifiers to represent the upper non-aristocratic class, while in contrast, old age, plain attire, and the profile view are used as signs to construct a subordinate status. The results demonstrate that the paintings of.
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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 08 November 2025

  • Receive Date 20 April 2025
  • Revise Date 14 October 2025
  • Accept Date 05 November 2025