She has a choice to make
Golden Burqa
Abdul Rasool, 2023
Acryllic on canvas, 43х33
Muscat, Oman
Acryllic on canvas, 43х33
Muscat, Oman
How does the traveller see it?
(Fragment of a post from a Facebook page)
This canvas I purchased in the capital city of the Sultanate of Oman, Muscat.
What drew me to this painting were three unusual things: the golden mask (burqa), the semblance of a broken vase in the bottom-left corner and the semblance of a golden bracelet in the bottom-right. The seller, Ifran, did not know what the artist was trying to say with these elements. And for me this meant that there was enough mystery in the work for it to find a place in my collection.
Abdul Rasool, the artist, is abroad at the moment according to the seller; the woman depicted in the painting is from Ash Sharqiyah Region. A local guide at the Bait Al Zubair museum added that the golden mask does not have religious significance like the hijab; rather, it serves as protection for Bedouin women against the desert sand and blaring sun. Pale skin for Omanis is synonymous with beauty––perhaps some important event just happened in her life? Does a big choice await her?
If I manage to get in touch with the artist, I will let you know about it.
If not, then I’ll dig in to the culture of Omani Arabs and come up with my own interpretation.
What drew me to this painting were three unusual things: the golden mask (burqa), the semblance of a broken vase in the bottom-left corner and the semblance of a golden bracelet in the bottom-right. The seller, Ifran, did not know what the artist was trying to say with these elements. And for me this meant that there was enough mystery in the work for it to find a place in my collection.
Abdul Rasool, the artist, is abroad at the moment according to the seller; the woman depicted in the painting is from Ash Sharqiyah Region. A local guide at the Bait Al Zubair museum added that the golden mask does not have religious significance like the hijab; rather, it serves as protection for Bedouin women against the desert sand and blaring sun. Pale skin for Omanis is synonymous with beauty––perhaps some important event just happened in her life? Does a big choice await her?
If I manage to get in touch with the artist, I will let you know about it.
If not, then I’ll dig in to the culture of Omani Arabs and come up with my own interpretation.
And what do you think?