GENEVA, SWITZERLAND FOR THE IRANIAN MARKET, CIRCA 1895

Kamran Mirza Nayeb es-Saltaneh (1856-1929) was the third son of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar and served as Minister of War from 1880-96 and again from 1906-07. His daughter was Malekeh Jahan, the queen consort of Muhammad 'Ali Shah, the sixth Qajar shah. Muhammad 'Ali reigned between 8 January 1907 and 16 July 1909 during the turbulent period of the Enghelab-e Mashruteh, the Persian Constitutional Revolution. His father, Mozzafar al-Din Shah Qajar (1896-1907), ratified the constitution in 1906 which was opposed by Muhammad 'Ali Shah upon coming to power. In 1908 the Shah attempted to remove parliament by force resulting in a year long period of unrest resulting in Muhammad 'Ali Shah's abdication following the capture of Tabriz by pro-constitutional forces. Muhammad 'Ali Shah and Malekeh Jahan would live in exile in Odessa until 1920 before moving to Istanbul and finally Sanremo in Italy until his death in 1925. The reverse of our watch bears the name of Malekeh Shah and the small size of the watch indicates that it was made for a woman, very possibly for Malekeh Shah herself.

This watch comes from the collection of Kamran Mirza's great-grandson and Head of the Qajar Imperial Family Prince Sultan 'Ali Mirza Qajar. Sultan 'Ali Mirza was born in Beirut before moving to Paris where he served as a barrister. Due to the brief reign of Muhammad 'Ali Shah, objects commissioned during this period are very rare and those with a royal provenance are even scarcer. A Swiss pocket watch intended for the Persian market with a portrait of Muzaffar al-Din Shah Qajar was sold in these Rooms 27 October 2022, lot 63.