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Lot Essay
Remarkably few images survive of Nadir Shah Afshar, conqueror of Delhi and ruler of Iran from AH1148-1160/1736-47 AD. This is perhaps unsurprising, given his preoccupation with the art of war rather than with the fine arts.
Other depictions of Nadir Shah, wearing his characteristic three pointed cap, include an image on a lacquer mirror case sold in these rooms, 12 October 1999, lot 228, and also in his famous portrait in the Victoria & Albert Museum, illustrated in Layla Diba and Maryam Ekhtiar eds., Royal Persian Paintings: The Qajar Epoch, New York, 1998, fig.19, p.139.
The pointillist effect of this miniature appears regularly during Qajar times. However, this technique was used as far back as the early 17th century, as demonstrated by the many paintings by Muhammad Qasem in the Windsor Castle Shahnama. See also lot 136, a painting by Shaykh 'Abassi.
Other depictions of Nadir Shah, wearing his characteristic three pointed cap, include an image on a lacquer mirror case sold in these rooms, 12 October 1999, lot 228, and also in his famous portrait in the Victoria & Albert Museum, illustrated in Layla Diba and Maryam Ekhtiar eds., Royal Persian Paintings: The Qajar Epoch, New York, 1998, fig.19, p.139.
The pointillist effect of this miniature appears regularly during Qajar times. However, this technique was used as far back as the early 17th century, as demonstrated by the many paintings by Muhammad Qasem in the Windsor Castle Shahnama. See also lot 136, a painting by Shaykh 'Abassi.