QAJAR IRAN, CIRCA 1870

Details

A PORTRAIT OF NASIR AL-DIN SHAH QAJAR
QAJAR IRAN, CIRCA 1870
Oil on canvas mounted on card, against an olive ground, the ruler wearing a tunic woven with boteh, edged with yellow piping, a tie with pearl-studded pin and an astrakhan hat with white egret feather, later inscription in nasta'liq script to the reverse 'Work of Naqash Bashi Kamal al-Mulk, portrait of Nasir al-Din Shah'
20 ½ x 14 ¼in. (52 x 36.2cm.)

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Lot Essay

The reign of Nasir al-Din Shah (1848-96) was one of change and modernisation in Tehran. Nasir al-Din supported a local school of portraiture which abandoned the style of Fath 'Ali Shah in favour of a European-influenced academic style, ranging from state oil portraits to watercolours of unprecedented naturalism (Julian Raby, Qajar Portraits, London, 1999, p.56).

The new sense of realism, a product of this developing style, is apparent in this bust portrait of Nasir al-Din. It is highly likely that our painting was based on a photograph, which was at the time a new and influential art form beloved of the shah.

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