A Qajar portrait of a lady with cat, Iran, circa 1850, in an arched frame, 145cm. high x 84cm. diam. Provenance: Acquired on December 2, 2015 in Paris.The lady appears to have a small diamond-shaped tattoo between her eyebrows. This practice was prevalent across the Middle East and North Africa. Ladies of the best families had designs pricked on the forehead to connect the eyebrows, on the chin, cheek, lip, and throat. This practice was undertaken for one of four reasons: to embellish the charms of the woman, to avert the evil eye, to hide a scar or blemish, or to cure a malady. A Timurid illustration of a couple in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (57.51.20) shows an elegant courtly lady with a tattoo between her eyebrows.Please refer to department for condition report