Oliver White
Head of Department
Lot 134
A Qajar lacquer mirror case with a watercolour depicting the Imam 'Ali flanked by his sons Hasan and Husain, his father Abu Talib, and Abyssinian Bilal Persia, second half of the 19th Century
18 June 2013, 11:00 BST
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £3,500 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Islamic and Indian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
A Qajar lacquer mirror case with a watercolour depicting the Imam 'Ali flanked by his sons Hasan and Husain, his father Abu Talib, and Abyssinian Bilal
Persia, second half of the 19th Century
Persia, second half of the 19th Century
rectangular, decorated in polychrome and gilt on the front and back with a bird perching in a rose bush surrounded by a border of undulating floral vine and a further band of foliate motifs, the inside cover with a watercolour on paper behind glass, the central cartouche depicting the Imam 'Ali, above four angels and a band of four inscription-filled cartouches, below a further seven inscription-filled cartouches, with signature of Muhammad Isma'il, the spandrels with floral sprays
23.6 x 15.2 cm.
23.6 x 15.2 cm.
Footnotes
The inscriptions consist of:
Verses in praise of Imam 'Ali, including a quatrain from the Divan of Shams Tabrizi by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi.
In the lower cartouches, a signature: huwa. 'amal-e kamtarin Muhammad Isma'il naqqash-bashi 1277
'He [God]. Work of the meanest [servants of God] Muhammad Isma'il, the Chief Painter 1277 [1860-61].'
Muhammad Isma'il is only known through his paintings on numerous lacquered objects dated between AH 1264/AD 1847-48 and AH 1288/AD 1871-72, and the marriage certificate of the daughter of Najaf 'Ali, another 19th Century painter, where his name is mentioned as a witness. Unusually, he has painted himself in two pen-boxes (M.A. Karimzadeh Tabrizi, The Lives & Arts of Old Painters of Iran, vol. 1, London 1985, p. 457, fig. 13).
For his recorded work and assessment of his paintings see, Khalili et al, Lacquer of the Islamic Lands, Part Two, N.D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, London 1997, pp. 46-58, cat. nos. 241, 243, 246-248; and M. A. Karimzadeh Tabrizi, The Lives & Arts of Old Painters of Iran, vol. 1, London 1985, pp. 66-76.