IRAN, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

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CALLIGRAPHIC EULOGY TO NASIR AL-DIN SHAH QAJAR
Iran, third quarter 19th century
A eulogy to Nasir al-Din Shah, with four lines of elegant large nasta'liq filled with a variety of figures, animals and foliate motifs, within gold-outlined clouds against elegant gold and polychrome illumination, the upper illuminated headpiece an illuminated panel with the Shah's name, plain gold and coloured margin stripes, mounted, framed and glazed
30¾ x 20½in. (78.7 x 52.5cm.)

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Lot Essay

The quatrain on this panel reads: 'Whoever has knowledge and wisdom , And is aware of the secrets of heavens and stars , Knows that the crescent of the sky with all its might , Is a horse-shoe of the charger of Nasr al-Din Shah'.

A calligraphic excerse in the Khalili Collection, done by the Shah himself, has a similar blue panel at the top of the page (Stephen Vernoit, Occidentalism, London, 1997, no.64, p.113). Whilst that is done as a likeness of the royal seal although drawn by hand (being a practice sheet rather than an official document), the 'seal' on this panel simply gives the name of the Shah. This was most probably done as a gift to Nasir al-Din Shah, flattering him both with the verse itself and with the beauty of its presentation.

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