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Lot Essay
Mirza Reza Khan (1846-1939) was a prominent diplomat, politician and linguist of the late Qajar period. He is particularly remembered for his nomination as Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia (1895-1901) and representing Persia at the Hague Convention of 1899. Originally from Tabriz, Mirza Reza Khan studied in Constantinople and in Tiflis where he learnt French, English and Russian. He was first sent to Russia in 1876 at the request of the Turkish government to act as a mediator on behalf of captive Turkish citizens.
The letters compiled in this album mostly relate to the early stage of Mirza Reza Khan's career. One of them records telegraph exchanges between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Consul General in Tiflis in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs asks for a Russian translator with a knowledge of scientific terminology and geography to be immediately sent to Tehran, to which the consul recommends Reza Khan and confirms that he has been dispatched. The letter is dated 10 September 1883.
Another letter confirms his appointment as interpreter to the General Adjudant in St Petersburg. Mirza Reza Khan was later promoted to First Secretary of the Consulate General and in 1895, he was nominated Envoy to St Petersburg. Many of the letters compiled in this album are expressions of satisfaction with the duties performed by him. His performance and success in his various roles cemented his career in the diplomatic corps.
Mirza Reza Khan was later appointed the Iranian representative in Constantinople and to the League of Nations after the first World War. He retired for some years in Montecarlo after 1910 where he built the Daneshgah Villa, a replica of his Tabriz home. He wrote an account of his nine years there in a book entitled Poésie et Art Persans à Monaco (1910-1919). Mirza Reza Khan was a friend of the French writer Pierre Loti.
The firman recording the moment when Nasir al-Din Shah bestowed on Mirza Reza Khan the title of janab (Excellency), and appointed him the Persian Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia was sold at Sotheby's, London, 8 OCtober 2008. It will be offered at Christie's South Kensington, 26 April 2013, lot 613.
Sulayman Khan Amir Tuman whose photographic portrait appears on the first page of this album had signed some of the official letters compiled here. He is described as the Governor of Kalat in Azerbaijan.
The binding is signed Abu al-Qasim al-Anjadani and dated AH 1303/1885-86 AD.
The letters compiled in this album mostly relate to the early stage of Mirza Reza Khan's career. One of them records telegraph exchanges between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Consul General in Tiflis in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs asks for a Russian translator with a knowledge of scientific terminology and geography to be immediately sent to Tehran, to which the consul recommends Reza Khan and confirms that he has been dispatched. The letter is dated 10 September 1883.
Another letter confirms his appointment as interpreter to the General Adjudant in St Petersburg. Mirza Reza Khan was later promoted to First Secretary of the Consulate General and in 1895, he was nominated Envoy to St Petersburg. Many of the letters compiled in this album are expressions of satisfaction with the duties performed by him. His performance and success in his various roles cemented his career in the diplomatic corps.
Mirza Reza Khan was later appointed the Iranian representative in Constantinople and to the League of Nations after the first World War. He retired for some years in Montecarlo after 1910 where he built the Daneshgah Villa, a replica of his Tabriz home. He wrote an account of his nine years there in a book entitled Poésie et Art Persans à Monaco (1910-1919). Mirza Reza Khan was a friend of the French writer Pierre Loti.
The firman recording the moment when Nasir al-Din Shah bestowed on Mirza Reza Khan the title of janab (Excellency), and appointed him the Persian Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia was sold at Sotheby's, London, 8 OCtober 2008. It will be offered at Christie's South Kensington, 26 April 2013, lot 613.
Sulayman Khan Amir Tuman whose photographic portrait appears on the first page of this album had signed some of the official letters compiled here. He is described as the Governor of Kalat in Azerbaijan.
The binding is signed Abu al-Qasim al-Anjadani and dated AH 1303/1885-86 AD.