Page 30 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

16
AEGIDIUS SADELER (D.1629): ZEYNAL KHAN,
MEHDI QULI BEG AND ANTHONY SHIRLEY
PRAGUE, 1604-05 AD
Copperplate engravings on paper, with inscriptions in Persian
and Latin
10Ω x 7æin. (26.5 x 19.6cm.); 10Ω x 7ºin. (26.6 x 18.4cm.);
7√ x 5¡in. (20 x 13.5cm.) (3)
£4,000-6,000 US$5,600-8,400
€4,700-6,900
Aegidius Sadeler or Aegidius Sadeler II (1570–1629) was a
Flemish engraver who was principally active at the Prague
court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and his successors.
The three portraits present here depict Zaynal Khan, Mehdi
Quli Beg and Anthony Shirley. Zeynal Khan (also known as
Zaynal al-Beg Shamlu) was a notable nobleman in the Safavid
era. It seems he served as a military commander for both Shah
Abbas I and Shah Safi. This portrait of him was most probably
created when he travelled with Mehdi Quli Beg as the Persian
ambassadors to the court of Rudolf II in Prague, in 1604 and
1605. It has been recorded that Anthony Shirley whose portrait
is also present here had also lead a Persian embassy from
Shah ‘Abbas I to Prague in 1600 (Horníčková and Šroněk,
2010, p.6).

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