Qashqa'i Life

With this book, for the first time, Western readers are given access to the work of Iranian painter Bijan Khan Bahadori Kashkuli, well-known in his own country for his large, nomadically-themed oeuvre. This book also introduces them to the rich culture and fascinating history of the artist's people, the nomadic Qashqa'i of Fars Province. In a unique way, Bijan Bahadori visualized the traditional culture of his people through his watercolors. Nowadays, the Qashqa'i do not live anymore as they did for hundreds of years: they have had to adapt to the modern world, just like nomadic tribes everywhere. Thus, Bijan Bahadori's images are of historical significance: they show a nearly lost aspect of Iran's - and the world's - exceptional cultural variety. Born at the right time, Bijan Bahadori captured the splendour of his people's traditional culture just before it was extinguished, ensuring that the Qashqa'i now possess their own record of their past. His paintings are now found as wall posters in almost every Qashqa'i family's house. This book invites Western art-lovers and armchair-travellers to enter the exotic, magic world of Qashqa'i Life.