QAJAR IRAN, SECOND HALF 19TH CENTURY

The present painting of the seated Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848-96) follows Sani al-Mulk's famous 1854 portrait on a larger-than-life scale (Musee de Louvre, acc. no. MAO 776). Other full length paintings of the youthful seated Nasir al-Din Shah are in the Israel Museum (acc. no. B69.0537) and the British Museum (acc. no. 1947,0210,0.1). Both the size of the present painting and its arched top suggest that it was made with a specific site in mind.