Page 79 - ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS Carpets, Ceramics Objects, Christie's London Oct..27, 2022

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QUR'AN
SIGNED QASIM AL-MUHAJIR, QAJAR
ARDABIL, IRAN, DATED AH 1314/1896-97 AD
Arabic manuscript on burnished paper, 312ff. plus
five flyleaves each with 14ll. of black naskh with red
Persian interlinear translations in nasta’liq, within
gold, blue and red rules, the word ‘Allah’ picked
out in gold, gold and polychrome rosette verse
markers, catchwords, with gold and polychrome
marginal medallions, sura headings in various
brightly-coloured inks in illuminated cartouches,
the opening bifolio with dense illumination
enclosing 3ll. of gold thuluth oulined in black, the
following folio with illuminated headpiece, signed
and dated colophon also stating the location
of copying, in lacquer binding with swirling
design and calligraphic border, with white paper
doublures
Text panels 9¡ x 5ºin. (23.6 x 13.2cm.);
folio 12¿ x 7qin. (30.4 x 19.1cm.)
£7,000-10,000 US$8,100-11,000
€8,000-11,000
The patron of our Qur’an is named in the
colophon as 'Ali Khan, a member of a
distinguished Qajar family, his father having had
a long career as diplomat and governor. He was
the governor of Azerbaijan, Fars, and Gilan during
Nasir al-Din Shah’s reign and in AH 1287/1870-71
AD was one of the courtiers to accompany Nasr
61 al-Din Shah on a tour of the Shi’ite shrines in
Ottoman-governed Iraq.

63
AN ENAMELLED GOLD POCKET WATCH WITH PORTRAIT OF
MUZAFFAR AL-DIN SHAH QAJAR (R.1896-1907)
SWITZERLAND FOR THE PERSIAN MARKET, EARLY 20TH CENTURY
θ 62
Swiss minute repeating movement , white enamel dial with Roman numerals,
QUR'AN the gold case with polychrome enamelled portrait of Muzaffar al-Din Shah
QAJAR IRAN, 19TH CENTURY Qajar, the back cover enamelled with shir o khorshid emblem, engraved on the
Arabic manuscript on paper, 280ff., plus four inner lid
flyleaves, each folio with 18ll. of black naskh 2¿in. (5.5cm.) diam.
within gold and polychrome rules, gold rosette
£12,000-18,000 US$14,000-21,000
verse markers, margins with commentary in
€14,000-20,000
nasta'liq at the start of each sura, catchwords, gold
and polychrome medallions marking divisions,
sura headings in gold thuluth within gold and INSCRIPTIONS:
REPETITON A MINUTES| CHRONOGRAPHE| NO.13417| FOURNISSEUR DE
polychrome cartouches, opening bifolio with two
LA COUR IMPERIALE| DE S.M. LE SCHAH DE PERSE
illuminated cartouches containing 5ll. of gold
thuluth, the following bifolio with dense gold and
polychrome illumination containing 6ll. of naskh in European watches were highly valued in Iran from as early as the Safavid
clouds, the final bifolio also with two illuminated period. Pocket watches are depicted as part of the royal regalia in early
cartouches, in lacquer binding with painting of Qajar paintings, see for instance a painting of Fath ‘Ali Shah by Mirza Baba
flowers to front and back, the doublures with from an important copy of the Diwan-i Khaqan, now in the Royal Collection
scrolling floral vines (Julian Raby, Qajar Portraits, exhibition catalogue, London, 1999, no.111,
Text panel 5¬ x 3ºin. (14.4 x 8.4cm.);
pp.40-43). The fashion for watches seems to have developed from then.
folio 7º x 4win. (18.4 x 12.5cm.)
It is thought that the fashion for watches decorated with a portrait of the
£5,000-7,000 US$5,800-8,000 monarch came from Ottoman Turkey, where they first appeared under Sultan
€5,800-8,100 Abdülmecid I (r.1839-61). A pocket watch also decorated with an enamelled
portrait of Muzaffar al-Din Shah is in the Khalili Collection (Stephen Vernoit,
Occidentalism, The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, London, 1997,
62
p.124, no.69). Others have sold in these Rooms, 26 October 2017, lot 125 and
Sotheby's London, 7 October 2015, lot 399.
76 In addition to the hammer price, a Buyer’s Premium (plus VAT) is payable. Other taxes and/or an Artist Resale Royalty 7777
fee are also payable if the lot has a tax or λ symbol. Check Section D of the Conditions of Sale at the back of this catalogue.