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Lot Essay
In his study of the subject Tim Stanley notes that lacquer bindings were first produced under Sultan Husayn Baiqara in Herat in the last quarter of the 15th century (Tim Stanley, 'The Rise of the Lacquer Binding', in Jon Thompson and Sheila Canby (eds.), The Hunt for Paradise, exhibition catalogue, New York and Milan, 2003, pp.184-200). It was not however until a date of around 1525 that a number of different colours were used and figural designs with compositions similar to those of paintings were employed for the covers (for one of the earliest examples see Lale Uluç, Turkman governors, Shiraz artisans and Ottoman collectors, Sixteenth century Shiraz manuscripts, Istanbul, 2006, pls. 211-212, pp.272-3). Another early dateable binding that uses human figures in the design is one made for Sam Mirza, brother of Shah Tahmasp, on a copy of the Diwan of Hafez made in 1533, but this encloses the figures within the medallion and spandrel structure typical of earlier bindings (Stanley, op.cit, fig.7.1, pp.184-5). As is the case with miniature paintings, very few bindings indeed are signed, although there is one signed by the court artist Mir Sayyed Ali on a copy of the Diwan of Mir 'Ali Shir Nawa'i in the British Library that is dateable to around 1540 (Stanley, op.cit, fig.7.10, pp.194-5). A further example from the collection of Gaston Migeon, with an enthroned prince in a landscape on one board and a hunting scene on the other, was attributed to Muhammad Sultan in Tabriz circa 1550 (Purs decors, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 2007, no.210, p.213) although it has recently been re-attributed to 'possibly Khorasan, c.1560-88 (https://www.louvre.fr/oeuvre-notices/reliure-aux-scenes-de-cour).
The style of the present binding is very close to that of Qazvin in the third quarter of the 16th century. The figures are relatively large, the ground is not overly filled with smaller motifs, and the trees in the background of the enthronement scene are on a scale similar to those painted by Mir Zayn al-Abidin in The Shah Isma'il II Shahnama and the Khamsa of Amir Khusraw Dehlavi sold in these Rooms 4 October 2012, lot 17. A binding with similar depictions on each face, although worked on a smaller scale, is on an Anthology in the Topkapi Saray Museum, attributed to court patronage in Tabriz or Qazvin between 1550-1570 (Uluç, op.cit., pls.209-210, pp.270-1). The present binding also, like the lacquer binding in lot 21, uses flecks of mother-of-pearl in the design to increase the reflection in certain elements. This seems likely to have been a feature particularly favoured in Qazvin. Safavid figural lacquer bindings seem to have reached their greatest production in Shiraz in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. It is extremely rare for a figural lacquer binding of a quality consistent with the work of the royal atelier to appear on the market.
The style of the present binding is very close to that of Qazvin in the third quarter of the 16th century. The figures are relatively large, the ground is not overly filled with smaller motifs, and the trees in the background of the enthronement scene are on a scale similar to those painted by Mir Zayn al-Abidin in The Shah Isma'il II Shahnama and the Khamsa of Amir Khusraw Dehlavi sold in these Rooms 4 October 2012, lot 17. A binding with similar depictions on each face, although worked on a smaller scale, is on an Anthology in the Topkapi Saray Museum, attributed to court patronage in Tabriz or Qazvin between 1550-1570 (Uluç, op.cit., pls.209-210, pp.270-1). The present binding also, like the lacquer binding in lot 21, uses flecks of mother-of-pearl in the design to increase the reflection in certain elements. This seems likely to have been a feature particularly favoured in Qazvin. Safavid figural lacquer bindings seem to have reached their greatest production in Shiraz in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. It is extremely rare for a figural lacquer binding of a quality consistent with the work of the royal atelier to appear on the market.