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Lot Essay
The sitter, wearing his gold brocaded coat and Iranian as well as foreign orders, is clearly a high ranking official of the Qajar court, wearing the following medals: an Order of the Imperial Effigy, three Orders of the Lion and Sun, two Turkish Orders (Possibly Orders of Mejidijie), a Russian Order, and a Western European medal.
Very few would have been entitled to wear this combination of decorations, and there are two possibilities as to his identity. The first is Amin al-Sultan, last prime minister of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, from 1889 -97, and the second is Haji Mirza Ali Khan Sinaki, Amin al-Dawleh, the prime minister from 1897-1906. The former seems more likely, as our portrait shares his distinctive lazy eye.
The painting is signed 'amal-e mirza ja'far naqqash-e madreseh-ye mobarakeh-ye dar al-funun/"Work of Ja'far, the painter of blessed school of Dar al-Funun".
Ja'far studied at the Dar al-Funun (The College of Fine Arts), where he later taught, and was referred to as 'Muhammad Ja'far the painting master of Dar al-Funun'. He was trained first by Sani' al-Mulk, and was painted in watercolours, siyah qalam and oil painting. His recorded work includes a portrait of the registrar of Dar al-Funun dated AH 1281/1864-65 AD; an undated portrait of Amin al-Sultan; a portrait of Nasir al-Din Shah dated AH 1292/AD 1875-6 and a lacquered pen box dated AH 1304/AD 1886-7) (M.A Karimzadeh Tabrizi, The Lives and Art of Old Painters of Iran, vol. 1, London, 1985, p. 130).
It has also been suggested that this is a portait of the young Muzaffar al-Din Mirza before he became Shah. A rather less formal painting of him as Crown Prince in the Metalghalchi Collection shows him with the same moustache (Julian Raby, Qajar Portraits, London, 1999, no.125, pp.125-6). The face of the present sitter however appears fuller than in any photograph of the crown prince.
Very few would have been entitled to wear this combination of decorations, and there are two possibilities as to his identity. The first is Amin al-Sultan, last prime minister of Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar, from 1889 -97, and the second is Haji Mirza Ali Khan Sinaki, Amin al-Dawleh, the prime minister from 1897-1906. The former seems more likely, as our portrait shares his distinctive lazy eye.
The painting is signed 'amal-e mirza ja'far naqqash-e madreseh-ye mobarakeh-ye dar al-funun/"Work of Ja'far, the painter of blessed school of Dar al-Funun".
Ja'far studied at the Dar al-Funun (The College of Fine Arts), where he later taught, and was referred to as 'Muhammad Ja'far the painting master of Dar al-Funun'. He was trained first by Sani' al-Mulk, and was painted in watercolours, siyah qalam and oil painting. His recorded work includes a portrait of the registrar of Dar al-Funun dated AH 1281/1864-65 AD; an undated portrait of Amin al-Sultan; a portrait of Nasir al-Din Shah dated AH 1292/AD 1875-6 and a lacquered pen box dated AH 1304/AD 1886-7) (M.A Karimzadeh Tabrizi, The Lives and Art of Old Painters of Iran, vol. 1, London, 1985, p. 130).
It has also been suggested that this is a portait of the young Muzaffar al-Din Mirza before he became Shah. A rather less formal painting of him as Crown Prince in the Metalghalchi Collection shows him with the same moustache (Julian Raby, Qajar Portraits, London, 1999, no.125, pp.125-6). The face of the present sitter however appears fuller than in any photograph of the crown prince.