Page 52 - 2021 April 1, ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs, Christie's London

construction of the following palatine edifices of Fath ‘Ali Shah (in addition to
the Sulaymanieh): the Qasr-e Qajar, the Imarat-i Cheshmeh, the Imamzadeh
Qulhak, Arghavanieh, Negarestan, Dilgusha, Baharistan and Lalehzar.
(Maryam Ekhtiar: “From Workshop to Academy: Art Training and Production
in Qajar Iran”, in Diba and Ekhtiar, op. cit.,pp. 52, 55 and notes 23, 49 and 52.
For a reconstruction of the Golestan in the first decade of the 18th century
based on manuscript sources see Layla Diba, “The Lost Palatine City of
Fath ‘Ali Shah, in IQSA Journal, X-XI, 2011. 17-29). These sites were located
in the vicinity of Tehran. (Abbas Amanat Email communication to the author,
Feb. 18, 2021) The execution of giant decorative cycles would have required
the very special talents of ‘Abdallah Khan as designer and chief of the royal
workshops and the service of a vast army of painters.
EPIGRAPHIC EVIDENCE:
Inscriptions identify each of the princes, giving their title and patrilineal or
matrilineal descent. The painting acts as a historical record of the dynasty,
giving specific information regarding the status of the princes and their role
in the court and line of succession. The inscriptions identify grandsons of
the ruler through the female line such as the sons of Ibrahim Khan Qajar
Qovanlou, Zahir al-Dawleh, thus visualizing minor members of the dynasty
little known from historical accounts. The inscriptions contain certain
historical inaccuracies, but in my view support a dating to the second decade
of the 19th century and the original location of the works proposed herein.
COURT CONTEXT:
During the second decade of the 19th century Iran was involved in the
inconclusive first Perso-Russian War (1805-13) and ultimately disastrous
second Perso-Russian war (1826-28). Occasions for elaborate ceremonials
were devised from New Year Salaams, to public levees, diplomatic receptions
and poetic gatherings. The court was a set for displays of pageantry and
loyalty.
It was also a period of consolidation of royal power characterized by a
massive building program and the creation of a dynastic image. Lavish
decorative cycles of the ruler and his sons played a critical role in the
construction of this image, and were displayed in the numerous palaces,
The Court of Fath ‘Ali Shah (Tri-Partite Composition). Artist Unknown. Circa 1815. Opaque pavilions and gardens of the ruler and his many sons and prince-governors.
watercolor and gold on paper. 1997.5.1–3. Central panel 23 x 20 1/16 inches (60 x 52 cm); Numerous accounts, both foreign and local, record the painted decoration of
Side panels 13 ¼ x 54 inches (33 x 135 cm). Original wall painting, Negarestan palace, Tehran.
The Art and History Trust, Courtesy The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. the palaces though none specifically mention the three-row group.
Source: Royal Persian Paintings, p. 175
PROVENANCE AND AMERICAN COLLECTING TRADITION:
The Bartlett painting is the only one of the group to have specific and very
intriguing provenance. Museum records based on an oral interview with
his widow in 1983, indicate that the work was acquired in New York from
of Fath ‘Ali Shah by the other two artists: his portrait of Crown Prince ‘Abbas
the Plaza Auction House by Fredrick Clay Bartlett sometime before 1920
Mirza as a youth (Fig.3).
when Bonnet House was built (email communication, Denyse Cunningham
Maryam Ekhtiar has discussed Abdallah’s career and, based on an 1839 to the author Feb 19, 2021). Its royal provenance and the appearance of this
firman of Muhammad Shah, first published by Muhammad Ali Karimzadeh, painting outside of Iran well before the remainder of the group requires an
recorded his elevation to Khan, his appointment as painter laureate explanation. A taste for Oriental art developed in America in the late 19th and
naqqashbashi sometime after 1807, designer (tarrah), architect (me’mar) 20th centuries fostered by international art fairs and art dealers in New York.
and chief of all the royal workshops (bashi). He was clearly a brilliant Bartlett was a talented artist and passionate art collector who was interested
conceptualizer of major compositions and projects: his most celebrated in Oriental curiosities as well as Impressionist paintings. This would perfectly
works are the Negarestan and Sulaymanieh murals; the rock relief of Fath Ali describe the field of activities of Dikran Kelekian, a leading art dealer and
Shah and his court at Rayy and the tomb carving of Fath Ali Shah’s tomb in tastemaker. Kelekian had organized an Imperial Persian Pavilion at the St.
Qom, executed shortly before the ruler’s death in 1834. Active circa 1800 to Louis World’s fair (1904) and had then sold the exhibits in New York at the
circa 1850, he was also the most long-lived of Fath ‘Ali Shah’s court artists. Fifth Avenue Auction House in 1906-07. He was favoured with a title by the
‘Abdallah’s style is less distinctive than that of the other two naqqashbashi: Qajar ruler Muzaffar al Din Shah (1896-1907) (Luiza deCamargo, ”Content
Mirza Baba’s works evince the modelling and soft facial effects of his Zand and Character: Dikran Kelekian and Eastern Decorative Arts Objects in
school origins and Mihr ‘Ali specialized in iconic portrayals of the ruler America” Master of Arts Thesis, The Smithsonian Associates and the
distinguished by their elongated proportions and stylized -almost delicate- Corcoran College of Art and Design, 2012), indicating he would have been
facial features whose eyebrows appeared to be delineated with kohl, and in a position to acquire works from the Tehran court such as our painting,
masterfully rendered jewels. at a time when due to renovations, changing tastes and financial problems,
a number of royal treasures were discreetly sold. Bartlett apparently
The bulk of ‘Abdallah’s work is only preserved in secondary sources. But his
also purchased works at another action house, the Plaza Art Gallery,
success with the Negarestan and Sulaymanieh dynastic paintings and the
(Cunningham, 2021, ibid) and he may well have acquired our painting there.
numerous palace decorations commissioned from him would favour this
The Bartlett painting thus provides evidence of American collecting taste
attribution. According to the firman, he was rewarded for his service in the
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