My new picture

Orange Tree

I absolutely love this picture! I bought it at the weekend at an auction and it was a steal. It's painted by a friend of mine - he's actually a very good abstract artist, but he did this representational piece for a special project, I think.

The two gold lines at the sides of the painting are gold paint and the painting is framed in gold with a black background. It's quite small - too big to be a miniature, but it gives that impression.

It has a special significance actually because it is not just any old orange tree, but one that was planted in a courtyard in a house in Shiraz, Persia. The house belonged to a young man called Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad, who called himself the Bab or 'gate'. This title indicated that he was destined to announce to the world the coming of a universally awaited 'Promised One' of all ages, Who would bring in an era of peace and justice.

This news attracted a number of followers and soon the authorities and the ecclesiastics were feeling rattled by the support this young merchant had attracted. Historians recount in gory detail the excessive tortures and indignities that the Bab's followers were subjected to. Thousands were massacred for their Faith.

Eventually, the Bab Himself, after a series of exiles to remote places in Iran (in a futile attempt to quell the support He had among the populace) was executed. The circumstances surrounding His execution are themselves quite remarkable, as is the story of how his devoted followers kept his mortal remains well protected and hidden from those who tried to stamp out his influence forever. The same attitude by the authorities led to their destroying the house the Bab lived in while in Shiraz, and eventually another building was put in its place, ironically called "Bayt-al-Mahdi" or "The House of the Mahdi (Promised One)".

The Bab's remains now rest in Haifa, Israel inside a Shrine which is now a place of pilgrimage by Baha'is (followers of Baha'u'llah - that Promised One the Bab had prepared the way for) all over the world. It is also a major tourist attraction in Haifa. There's a picture and a short history here .

Some people preserved the seeds of the oranges of the tree, and there are now two small orange trees grown from them on the terrace immediately leading to the Shrine.

It's a kind of mark of resilience, of survival against the odds - like the Faith that still struggles to be recognised in the country of its origin.