Al-Sahifa al-Kamila, a collection of prayers including seven prayers to be recited according to the days of the week Persia, late Safavid, late 17th/early 18th CenturyArabic and Persian manuscript on paper, 241 leaves, approximately 9 lines to the page written in clear naskhi script in black ink with interlinear Persian translation written in smaller nasta'liq script in red ink, double interlinear rules in gold, inner margins ruled in blue and gold, catchwords, headings of each prayer written in elegant thuluth in gold within a rectangle decorated with fine vegetal scrolling motifs in blue, numerous Persian commentaries written in nasta'liq script in black ink in outer margins, one fine double-page of illumination richly decorated with intertwining floral motifs in gold and some colour, the two pages interleaved with a blank page containing cartouches incorporating a reference in nasta'liq script to the fourth Imam, Zayn al-'Abidin (to whom al-Sahifa al-Kamila is attributed), red morocco, covers richly decorated with central medallions and cornerpieces incorporating intertwining floral motifs in colours and gold, on a red ground decorated with intertwining vegetal motifs in gold, with flap, doublures of green morocco gilt, lower cover detached 173 x 113 mm.Footnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
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Four photographs depicting the visit of Muzaffar al-Din Shah Qajar (reg. 1896-1907) to Great Britain in 1902, showing him with King Edward VII, Queen Alexandra, the Prince of Wales (later George V), and other members of the British Royal Family Qajar Persia, circa 1902gelatin silver prints laid down on card mounts, Persian inscriptions written in nasta'liq script 283 x 225 mm.; 216 x 287 mm.; 223 x 288 mm.; card mounts 430 x 370 mm.(4)Footnotes:The photographs are as follows:1. Muzaffar al-Din Shah with the Prince of Wales, later King George V. The caption reads: vali'ahd-e engelis dar marlboro miyuz qasri keh mahall-e tavaqqof-e a'lahazrat-e shahanshahi bud andakhteh shod, 'The Crown Prince of England [sic], taken in the Marlborough Mews [Marlborough House], the palace which was the stopping place of His Majesty, the Monarch'.2. Muzaffar al-Din Shah with the Prince of Wales, later King George V, Amin al-Sultan and other Persian officials. The caption reads: dar landan dar marlnoto miyuz qasri keh keh mahall-e tavaqqof-e a'lahazrat-e shahanshahi ruhana fadahu bud andakhteh shod, 'It was taken in London in Marlborough Mews [Marlborough House], the palace which was the stopping place of His Majesty, the Monarch – may our souls be sacrificed for him'.3. A group photograph with Muzaffar al-Din Shah, members of the British Royal Family, and Persian officials, taken on the Royal Yacht off Portsmouth, 20th August 1902. The caption reads: dar kashti-ye victoria albert 20 mah-e ut dar bandar-e portmus, '(The photograph taken) on the Victoria Albert yacht in the Port of Portsmouth on 20 of the month of August [1902]'.The front row, from right to left, are identified in the captions, and are as follows: Prince Arthur of Connaught (the nephew of the King)', 'Princess Victoria the daughter of the King', 'His Majesty the King' [Edward VII]', 'Her Majesty the Queen' [Queen Alexandra], 'The Crown Prince' [Prince of Wales, later George V]. Muzaffar al-Din Shah is seated between Queen Alexandra and the Prince of Wales. 4. Muzaffar al-Din Shah on the Royal Yacht with Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The caption reads: dar kashti mawsum beh victoria and albert dar bandar-e portsmus 20 mah-e ut andakhted shod, '(The photograph) was taken on the Victoria and Albert yacht in the Port of Portsmouth on 20 of the month of August [1902]'. The figures are identified: 'alahazrat malakeh-ye engelis, 'Her Majesty Queen of England', 'alahazrat padshah-e engelis, 'His Majesty, King of England'.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar moulded pottery tile panel Persia, 19th Centuryseparate tiles forming a panel, each of rectangular form, moulded and decorated in cobalt-blue, turquoise, manganese, pink and ochre with a black outline on a white ground with a repeat design based around large tulips, roses and other flowerheads with floral interlace each tile approx. 34 x 31.5 cm.(6)Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate Scottish Collection.This group of tiles surrounded the fireplace of a house in Helensburgh, Scotland, which was built in 1873.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A practice sheet (siyah mashq) in nasta'liq script on an illuminated album page Persia, 18th-19th CenturyPersian manuscript on paper, text written diagonally in large nasta'liq script in black ink within cloudbands on a gold ground and intertwined with stylised foliate motifs in gold, inner margins with floral motifs in gold on a light brown ground, outer borders with an undulating foliate motif in gold on a light green ground, laid down on later card 285 x 130 mm.Footnotes:There are three different notes in Persian on the reverse, all attributing the hand to that of the famous calligrapher 'Abd al-Rashid Daylami, whose recorded work is dated between AH 1030/AD 1620-21 and AH 1071/AD 1660-61. He died circa 1670. See M. Bayani, Ahval va athar-e khawshnavisan, vol. II, Tehran 1346sh, pp. 393-400.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Khorasan bronze weight in the form of a lion Persia, 12th Centuryseated facing left with ears erect and forepaws extended, the body profusely decorated with a collar containing geometric motifs and cartouches containing foliate designs, each flank of the feline with a band of floriated kufic, a line of crescent motifs either side of the spine 17.5 cm. long; 2.47 kg.Footnotes:ProvenanceSotheby's, Arts of the Islamic World, 9 April 2008, lot 120.Inscriptions: bi'l-yumn wa al-bara[kah]/bi'l-yu[mn]/... /[a]l-kiramah (?) al-baraka[h], 'With good-fortune and blessing, with good-fortune ... generosity, blessing'.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Maktabi Shirazi, Layla va Majnun, with eighteen illustrations, copied by Muhammad Husayn ibn Mirza Muhammad Mazandarani Persia, dated AH 1247/AD 1831-32Persian manuscript on paper, 104 leaves with two blanks, 11 lines to the page written two columns in nasta'liq script in black ink with many words in shikasteh, intercolumnar rules and inner margins ruled in gold, headings written in nasta'liq script in red, opening illuminated headpiece in colours and gold, 18 illustrations, Qajar lacquer floral binding, floral doublures 147 x 93 mm.Footnotes:The illustrations are as follows:1. Sayyid 'Amiri (Majnun's father) asks Layla's father for the hand of his daughter for his son.2. Majnun's father advises Majnun.3. Majnun and his father on the way to the Ka'ba.4. Majnun and his father at the Ka'ba.5. Story of lovers descried.???6. Majnun's mother advises her son.7. The old woman and Layla. 8. Layla & companions in a garden (seen by Ibn Salam).9. Majnun meets Nawfal.10. Battle of the two tribes.11. Majnun on his way to Layla's camp, hearing a noise from a well.12. Layla meets Majnun in the wilderness.13. A shepherd takes Majnun to Layla concealed in sheepskin.14. Majnun at his father's tomb.15. A messenger brings a letter from Layla.16. Majnun is told of his mother's tomb.17. Majnun watches Ibn Salam being killed by a beast.18. Majnun dies on Layla's dead body.Maktabi Shirazi was a poet of the late 15th-early 16th century, who composed his Layla and Majnun in AH 895/AD 1489-90, which he dedicated to Amir-zadeh Qasim. There is no record of his actual name, and he is recorded only by his pen name Maktabi, after his profession of teacher at a school (maktab). He is recorded as having travelled to Khorasan, India and Arabia. He died circa 1510 and is buried in Shiraz. (See F. Richard, Catalogue des Manuscripts Persans, vol. II, Le Supplement Persan, Rome 2013, pp. 851-2, no. 647).Rypka comments: 'Nizami found an uncommonly large number of imitators of his poem Layla u Majnun, in Iran and in the areas falling under the influence of Persian culture – in Turkey, Central Asia, India and so on. They imitate his form, choice of material, treatment of analogous and sometimes like subjects, preferably in the same Khamsa form. Amir Khusrau, the first in point of time, occupies a prominent place and he in his turn also influences his successors. Among these, Maktabi of Shiraz approaches his model most nearly in his admirable epic poem Layla u Majnun, which dates from AH 895/AD 1489–90 and is a work that even achieves new effects by means of lyrical ghazal insertions. Tremendous admiration for Nizami is reflected also in the miniatures and in the minor arts in general, where the themes are for the great part taken from the Khamsa.' See J. Rypka, History of Persian Literature, Dordrecht 1968, pp. 98 and 213. A fine version of this text was offered in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 24th April 2018, lot 144; and another, 26th October 2020, lot 48.The text (in a slightly casual nasta'liq, including many words in shikasteh) was copied by Muhammad Husayn ibn Mirza Muhammad Mazandarani in AH 1247/AD 1831-32. He is unrecorded. A manuscript of the Layla and Majnun (without giving the poet's name) in nasta'liq and signed by the same scribe as the present manuscript, but dated AH 1251/AD 1835-36, was offered at Sotheby's, Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 28th April 1993, lot 145. It had 102 leaves, 11 lines of text to the page (as here), headings in red, and had thirteen illustrations.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A fine slip-painted pottery mug Persia, 9th/ 10th Centuryof compressed globular form with wide flaring neck on a short foot with simple handle, the body decorated in manganese on a cream ground with inscriptions in kufic, with fitted case 10 cm. high.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate collection, acquired at Mansour Gallery, London, in 2000.Inscriptions: ashraf al-ahsab muruwwah, 'The most noble of (all) values is chivalry'.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A prisoner being chastised before a nobleman, a mullah or sufi attempting to prevent the ordeal Qajar Persia, circa 1880gouache and gold on paper, laid down on an album page with illuminated and ruled inner margins, two cartouches containing inscriptions in nasta'liq script in gold, outer border richly decorated in colours and gold in Safavid style painting 120 x 197 mm.; album page 240 x 335 mm.Footnotes:The text in the cartouches, which seems to be unrelated to the painting and probably derives from another manuscript, consists of two couplets from the Mawa'iz (Counsels) of Sa'di.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar velvet panel Persia, 18th/ 19th Centuryof rectangular form, of polychrome silk with a central panel containing five lozenge shaped cartouches filled with quatrefoil motifs, the interstices with foliate vines, the border with a repeat design of stylised flowerheads, mounted 174 x 120 cm.Footnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
An Umayyad bronze ewer Persia or Mesopotamia, 8th/9th Centuryof piriform on a short foot with waisted neck and raised band to rim, simple handle 27.3 cm. highFootnotes:For an almost identical bronze jug sold at Sotheby's see Islamic Works of Art, Carpets and Textiles, 16 April 1987, lot 314. Another example is in the Kuwait National Museum (LNS 174M).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A collection of items relating to the 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire held by Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Persia and Europe, circa 1971comprising a copy of the official menu of the state dinner, printed on vellum by Tolmer, Paris; a cased silver box with applied gold crown marked 'Husayn', 'Isfahan' and '84'; a cased Spode porcelain 'Imperial Plate of Persia' with printed description in original envelope; a cased gold plated replica of an Achaemenid sword; placement for 'S. Exc. M. Alan John Oxley' the plate 27 cm. diam.(4)Footnotes:ProvenanceAlan John Oxley, South African Consul in Tehran (1970-1973) and thence by descent. The lavish menu included: crayfish mousse, roast lamb with truffles, quail's eggs stuffed with caviar, roast peacock stuffed with foie gras, and a sorbet of vieux champagne (Moet 1911), prepared by Maxim's of Paris.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A set of Qajar gold-damascened openwork steel armour Persia, 19th Centurycomprising a helmet (khula-khud), a shield (sipar) and an arm-guard (bazuband), engraved and decorated en-suite in gold overlay and pierced openwork backed with red foil, the the helmet and shield with inscription-filled cartouches, the shield with four bosses, the helmet with noseguard flanked by plume holders, the camail with steel and brass rings forming a repeat design of diamond motifs, the arm guard with sun motif, mounted the shield 47. cm. diam.(3)Footnotes:Inscriptions: Persian couplets including one from Sa'di's Gulistan.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Safavid Gombroon pottery bowl Persia, 17th Centuryof shallow rounded form on a short foot with a raised boss to well, decorated underglaze in cobalt-blue and black on a white ground with a rosette to the well with stellate designs and circle motifs to the rim, the body pierced with 'rice-grain' decoration 18.6 cm. diam.Footnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A gold-damascened steel sword (shamshir) with Ottoman gem-set gilt-silver mounts Persia and Turkey, 18th and 19th Centurythe single-edged watered steel blade of curved form with flattened spine, the hilt with gold overlaid decoration to centre of grips consisting of inscription in nasta'liq, the silver-gilt pommel and cross-guard mounted with diamond and emerald-set floral motifs, paste, the wood scabbard clad in purple velvet with gem-set mounts ensuite, repoussé silver chape and upper mount, fitted hinged wood case 96.3 cm. longFootnotes:ProvenanceFormerly in the collection of the Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan.Inscriptions: [bar farq-e] falak fekandeh masnad taj-e sar-e anbiya' muhammad, 'Has spread his throne on Heaven's summit, Muhammad, the crown of (all) prophets'.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qur'an leaf written in kufic script on vellum Near East or North Africa, 9th-10th CenturyArabic manuscript on vellum, six lines written in kufic script in brown ink with diacritics in red, sura heading in gold, text interspersed with gold added later, trimmed and laid down within ruled margins in colours and gold area within margins 81 x 127 mm.; visible leaf total size 97 x 145 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceR. W. Tookey, employee of the British Bank of the Middle East, London EC2, 1969. (Spink invoice (for £350) dated 16th January 1969 attached to backboard).Private Scottish collection.TextQur'an, end of sura LXXIX, al-Naziat, most of verse 46, and sura LXXX, 'Abas, beginning of verse 1.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A large Qajar silver-inlaid openwork brass candlestick Persia, 19th Centuryin four sections each divided by a raised band on a splayed base with five serpentine feet, flaring rim and two hinged handles to each side, profusely engraved and decorated in openwork with figures, mythical beasts, divs, animals in combat and pseudo-inscription-filled cartouches, all on a ground of scrolling floral interlace 97.8 cm. highFootnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar openwork brass qibla indicator Persia, 19th Centuryof circular form with lobed throne and openwork decoration, the exterior and sides with floral motifs, inset with a magnetic compass, with a suspension loop and braided leather rope 4.1 cm. diam.Footnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Four illuminated Qur'an leaves Persia, Herat, circa 1550Arabic manuscript on paper, four leaves mounted together in one frame, 15 lines to each page, first, eighth and fifteenth lines written in thuluth script in gold, remainder of text in smaller naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black and red, gold and blue roundels between verses, naskhi text bordered by illuminated cusped vertical devices within side panels, inner margins ruled in blue and gold, catchwords in outer margins of two leaves each leaf 320 x 222 mm.; frame 113 x 95 cm.Footnotes:Text(upper left) Sura XI, Hud, The prophet Hud, bismallah, verse 1 to part of verse 10.(upper right) Sura VII, al-A'raf, The Heights, part of verse 184 to part of verse 194.(lower left) Sura VII, al-A'raf, The Heights, part of verse 143 to part of verse 150.(lower right) Sura VII, al-A'raf, The Heights, part of verse 164 to part of verse 172.Compare with an illuminated Qur'an, Herat, Afghanistan, 16th Century, in the British Library (MS 13087), with the area allotted to the text partitioned within a rectangular framework to enable the use of a number of scripts, and with similar illumination (see John Reeve (ed.), Sacred: Books of the Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, London 2007, p. 113 & colour illustration).For a bifolium from the same manuscript, see Christie's South Kensington, Arts and Textiles of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 28th April 2017, lot 42. The format of this bifolium, with its three lines in gold and its panels of naskhi flanked by cusped vertical devices, is strikingly similar to that of a complete Qur'an, copied in Herat by Muhammad ibn Mirak, and dated AH 965/AD 1558, sold at Christie's, Islamic Art and Manuscripts, 29th April 2003, lot 18. There is another Qur'an, ascribed to Herat or Tabriz, circa 1525-50, written in a very similar if not identical hand, and with identical verse-markers, in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection (see D. James, After Timur: Qur'ans of the 15th and 16th Centuries, London 1992, pp. 128-135, no. 35).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
An illustration to the Mihr o Mushtari of Assar Tabrizi, depicting the blindfolded Mushtari and Badr awaiting execution before King Shapur Persia, Tabriz, circa 1520gouache heightened with gold on paper, two columns with three lines of text written in nasta'liq script in black ink above and below the illustration, inner margins ruled in black and gold, verso eight lines of text written horizontally and diagonally, diagonal text interspersed with floral motifs in gold, black and gold ruled inner margins 155 x 110 mm.Footnotes:PublishedArts from the Land of Timur: An Exhibition from a Scottish Private Collection, Paisley 2012, no. 492.Exhibited Arts from the Land of Timur: An Exhibition from a Scottish Private Collection, Edinburgh, 8th-13th January 2013, cat. no 492.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
An Umayyad or early Abbasid bronze ewer Persia or Mesopotamia, 8th/ 9th Centuryof piriform on a splayed foot with waisted neck and flattened rim cast with foliate details to each side, the handle with raised bands at grip, surmounted by a large palmette motif, the neck and rim engraved with scrolling and undulating foliate details 27 cm. highFootnotes:For a similar ewer in the Aga Khan Collection, see The Unity of Islamic Art, Exhibition Catalogue, Riyadh, 1985, no. 79, and for another similar shaped ewer signed by Abu Yazid in the Art Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi, see V. Loukonine and A. Ivanov, Persian Lost Treasures, London, 2003, no. 86, p. 98.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (d. 1110/1699), Miqbas al-Masabih, a text on prayers to be recited after daily prayers, copied for a certain Muhammad Quli Bikazadeh, by Muhammad Ibrahim Qumi, the well-known Safavid calligrapher, and formerly in the library of the Qajar Prince Farhad Mirza (1818-1888) Persia, dated Ramadan 1104/May-June 1693Arabic and Persian manuscript on paper, 84 leaves, 11 lines to the page written in naskhi script in black ink within cloudbands on a gold ground, gold roundels marking verse-endings, inner margins ruled in colours and gold, occasional significant words in red, one illuminated frontispiece in colours and gold, with floral illumination to the borders of ff. 1v-2r probably added in the 19th Century, catchwords and marginal commentaries outlined within gold cartouches, Qajar lacquer binding with a pattern of gold strapwork superimposed on a ground of finer scrolling vegetal motifs, cloth covers 181 x 115 mm.Footnotes:As this copy was made during the life of Majlisi, it may be one of the earliest recorded copies of this text. The patron, Muhammad Quli Bikazadeh (or his father), have not been identified. The colophon reads: The Miqbas al-masabih was copied by the order of the one close to the monarch, Muhammad Quli Bikazadeh, the beloved son of 'Abbas Quli Bikazadeh by Muhammad Ibrahim al-Qumi in Ramadan 1104 (May-June 1693).The design on the binding is similar to that on a mid-19th Century bookcover in the Khalili Collection: see N. D. Khalili, B. W. Robinson, T. Stanley, Lacquer of the Islamic Lands: Part Two, London 1997, p. 197, no. 420.Hand-written notes record that the manuscript was in the library of Prince Farhad Mirza in Sha'ban 1293/August-September 1876 and then in that of his son, Ihtisham al-Dawlah after AH 1306/AD 1888-89.These various ownership notes in the front flyleaves are as follows in detail:A. 'In turn, it entered (my library) and I am the sinner servant (of God), Farhad son of the Crown Prince - may his grave be fragrant - in the honoured month of Sha'ban 1293 (August-September 1876)'.Farhad Mirza (1818-1888) was the 15th son of 'Abbas Mirza Na'ib al-Saltanah and younger brother of Muhammad Shah. He is referred to as a Qajar Prince, Governor and bibliophile as well as a fine writer of the Persian language, with an excellent knowledge of Arabic. His love of collecting Persian and Arabic manuscripts is well-known and his library was considered as one of the best private libraries in Persia. His library was scattered after his death. For more on his political life and his achievements see M. Bamdad, op. cit., vol. iii, Tehran 1966, pp. 86-92; and Encyclopaedia Iranica (http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/farhad-mirza-motamad-al-dawla).B. 'In turn, it entered (my library) after my father's turn [...] and I am the servant of God, 'Abd al-'Ali Mirza Ihtisham al-Dawlah son of Farhad Mirza Mu'tamidal-Dawlah son of [...] Nayib al-Saltanah, the Crown Prince, 'Abbas Mirza - may their graves be fragrant. The oval seal impression reads 'Ihtisham al-Dawlah 1306 (1888-89).''Abd al-'Ali Ihtisham al-Dawlah (Ihtisham al-Mulk & Mu'tamid al-Dawlah) was the second son of Farhad Mirza. He received the title Ihtisham al-Dawlah after his father's death when his brother Uways Mirza received his father's title Mu'tamid al-Dawlah and 'Abd al-'Ali that of his brother's Ihisham al-Dawlah in AH 1305/AD 1887-88. He was Governor of Khamsah and Zanjan. He is first described as a young educated man and a poet but later on Bamdad comments: 'Despite being a literate and educated prince, he was self-satisfied, silly, undignified and a gambler'. (M. Bamdad, op. cit., vol. 2, Tehran, 1966, pp. 270-273).C. 'It is the hand of the deceased Aqa Ibrahim Qumi- may his grave be fragrant, there are eighty-four folios'.Muhammad Ibrahim Qumi was a calligrapher and illuminator of the Safavid period. Not much is known about him, though he is recorded as the teacher of Ahmad Nayrizi. The colophons of his works indicate that he copied a manuscript for Shah Sulayman. His recorded work, which includes manuscripts and lacquer illumination, is dated between AH 1070-1118/AD 1657-1706. See M. Bayani, Ahval va athar-e khawshnavisan, vol. 3, Tehran, 1348sh, pp. 625-626 and vol. 4, 1358 sh, pp. 127-129.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Mughal jade hilted nilgai head steel dagger (kard) North India, 17th/ 18th Centurythe single-edged watered steel blade of tapering form with flattened spine, the forte decorated in koftgari with floral and vegetal motifs, the jade pommel in the form of a nilgai, the eyes inlaid with later rubies 37 cm. longFootnotes:ProvenanceFormerly in the Richard R. Wagner Jr. Collection.PublishedOliver S. Pinchot, Arms of the Paladins, Rhode Island, 2014, p. 49, fig.3-101.For two similar kards with jade hilts of nilgai head form in the Furusiyya Collection see B. Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight, Milan, 2007, pp. 196-7, nos. 184 and 185.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar embroidered wool shawl Kerman, 19th Centuryof rectangular form, woven in polychrome with a central quatrefoil motif, surrounded by boteh and floral motifs, the borders with pairs of boteh alternating with floral designs, tassel trims to each side 185 x 174.5 cm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate US collection.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar walrus ivory-hilted jambiyya Persia, 19th Centurythe double-edged watered-steel blade of curved form, the spine partially flattened and decorated with gold overlay, the forte chiselled with a partial lobed cartouche containing an interlace of foliate vines and flowerheads, overlaid in gold, the waisted ivory hilt carved in relief with cartouches containing an enthroned king with attendants to both sides, the borders and pommel with inscriptions in pseudo-kufic, edged with beading 39.5 cm. long. Footnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: Y RY Subject to CITES regulations when exporting items outside of the EU, see clause 13.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A drawing depicting a recumbent chained lion, and two Europeans and their hounds after killing a stag Safavid Persia, 16th Centurydrawing with gouache and gold on paper, laid down on an album page with inner margins ruled in colours and gold and illuminated cornerpieces in upper corners, inner border with naturalistic foliate motifs in gold on a pale green ground, marbled outer border drawing 190 x 160 mm.; album page 440 x 322 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceFormerly in the private French collection of Alphonse ___, a diplomat who served in Salonika and Constantinople, and Minister Plenipotentiary, 1st Class, in 1922; and thence by descent.Private UK collection.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.Lot to be sold without reserve.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
KRISHNA WAKING A SLEEPING RADHA ON A TERRACE, AN ATTENDANT SLEEPING AT HER FEET, ANOTHER PEEPING FROM A CURTAIN, PLANTAIN TREES IN THE BACKGROUND DEOGARH, IN THE STYLE OF CHOKHA, CIRCA 1820-30gouache and gold on paper, green inner border, gold-sprinkled pink outer border, trimmed along vertical edges 248 x 179 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceIndar Pasricha, London, exhibition, June 1989, no. 27, where acquired by a previous owner (attributed to Chokha).The painting is executed in the style of Chokha, who after working for a decade at Udaipur returned to Deogarh in 1811. His son Baijnath continued into the 1820s, and as late as the 1840s. For related examples of their work, see: S. C. Welch, A Flower From Every Meadow, New York 1973, no. 24; M. C. Beach, R. N. Singh, Bagta and Chokha: Master Artists at Devgarh, Zurich 2005, p. 92, fig. 111; and for a work in their style, dated 1820-30, see Oliver Forge & Brendan Lynch, Indian Painting 1600-1870, New York 2012, p. 54, no. 25.Lot to be sold without reserve.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Khorasan silver-inlaid brass dish Persia, 12th Centuryof circular form with tapering sides and inverted flattened rim, engraved and inlaid in silver, to the well with a roundel containing foliate motifs surrounded by a border of floral designs, the rim with a geometric pattern, the exterior with an undulating floral vine 13.6 cm. diam.Footnotes:The shape is inspired by earlier Sassanian trays (see Rachel Ward, Islamic Metalwork, London, 1993, nos. 29 and 30).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A high official of the Qajar Persian government, perhaps 'Ali Asghar Khan Amin al-Sultan (1858-1907), Prime Minister under Nasr al-Din Shah Qajar Qajar Persia, signed by Aqa Mirza Musa, dated AH 1312/AD 1894-95oil on canvas, signed and dated lower left 60 x 50 cm.Footnotes:The signature reads: khanah-zad musa 1312, '[Serving] at court, Musa 1312 (1894-5).'The identification is not certain, but the sitter appears to be 'Ali Asghar Khan Amin al-Sultan (1858-1907), who was Prime Minister to no fewer than three late Qajar Shahs, with interruptions and even temporary exile. He was the son of Muhammad Ibrahim Amin al-Sultan and helped his father in his various posts. He was given the titles Amin al-Mulk in AH 1299/AD 1881-82, and inherited his father's title Amin al-Sultan, together with all his father's posts in AH 1300/AD 1883-84. He was made Prime Minister in AH 1306/AD 1888-99) and titled Atabak-e A'zam in AH 1318/AD 1900-01 (under Muzaffar al-Din Shah). The artist is recorded as Musa ibn Mirza Hasan, known as Aqa Mirza Musa (d. AH 1319/AD 1901-02), skilled in portraiture in oils and in siyah qalam. Most of the illustrations, generally of officials and noblemen, in the Sharaf newspaper were done by him in siyah qalam. His recorded works in oil consist of: an old man walking accompanied by his servant carrying a lamp at night, dated AH 1312/AD 1894-95; and a painting of an old woman spinning with two young girls helping her and also working on spinning machines, dated AH 1314/AD 1896-97. See M. A. Karimzadeh Tabrizi, The Lives & Art of Old Painters of Iran, vol. 3, London 1991, pp. 1234-1235. He was supposed to have developed junun (insanity) towards the end of his life.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
An Imam, seated at a balcony with a landscape beyond Qajar Persia, mid-19th Centuryoil on canvas 84 x 44.5 cm.Footnotes:ProvenanceFormerly in the collection of Johanna Annemarie Scheltema van Putten, probably acquired between the late 1940s-1960s, and hanging at Little Hawsted House, Steep, Hampshire, UK (see photograph) until her death in 2019.Johanna Annemarie Scheltema van Putten was a Dutch national living in Steep, Hampshire, from the early 1940s. She started buying art and antiques after the war, and on the basis of the black and white photograph showing this lot in situ, it can be estimated that it was acquired at some point between the end of the war and around the 1960s.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: †R†VAT at the prevailing rate on Hammer Price and Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar seed pearl and gem-set enamelled gold necklace Persia, 19th Centurythe pendant of tear drop form with a central flowerhead and turquoise bead surrounded by floral motifs, decorated in polychrome enamel, on a multi strand seed pearl necklace with emerald beads 28.5 cm. long; 51 g.Footnotes:Amongst the decorative arts of Qajar Persia, artisans excelled in the craft of enamelling. The two main techniques employed were champleve, where the design is engraved or gouged into metal, the area filled with enamel powder until level with the surface, and then heated until the powder fuses to the metal; and enamel painting, where the metal is covered in an opaque colour and the designs are painted on as a glaze, and fired in a kiln.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Safavid cuerda seca pottery tile Persia, 18th Centuryof square form, decorated in cobalt-blue, turquoise, yellow, ochre, green and manganese with black outline on a white ground with a nobleman and his parasol held up by an outstretched arm to his right, a floral spray to his left, the interstices with foliate vines 23.6 x 23.6 cm.Footnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar turquoise-set repoussé gold amulet necklace Persia, early 20th Centurythe amulet of rectangular form set with turquoise beads and paste, the reverse with repoussé decoration consisting of a flowerhead and floral motifs, the sides with foliate vines, with three coins suspended from the base, two depicting Ahmad Shah and the other depicting Nassir Al-din Shah, all on a gold suspension chain alternating with pearls and repoussé gold elements the necklace 24 cm long approx.; the case 4 x 3 cm.; 42.4 g.Footnotes:The coins on the necklace are half-Tomans dated between AH 1301/AD 1883-84 and AH 1335/AD 1916-17.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Mughal woven wool garment fragment Kashmir, circa 1700of irregular rectangular form, woven in cream, green, pink, red and black wool with a repeat design of floral sprays, framed 49 x 30 cm. Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate US collection, acquired in the mid 1980s. Lengths of fabric, called jamewar, were woven with simple repeat designs and no further ornamentation, unlike in shawl manufacture, to be used for tailoring clothes. For a garment fragment made from the an almost identical length of woven wool in the Tapi collection, see R. Barnes, S. Cohen and R. Crill, Trade, Temple and Court, Indian Textiles from the Tapi Collection, New Delhi, 2002, pp. 124-5, fig. 47.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar gold-damascened steel shield (Sipar) Persia, 18th/ 19th Centuryof circular convex form with everted rim and four steel bosses, the bosses and borders decorated in gold overlay with floral motifs, a band with cartouches containing nobles hunting and a band of inscription-filled cartouches in nastaliq around the rim, the reverse with velvet lining and four suspension loops 36 cm. diam.Footnotes:Inscriptions: Persian couplets, including one of Sa'di's.Two shields in the Louvre, Paris bear similar couplets (in.nos. R 867 and AD 8574).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A set of Qajar Gold Damascened Steel Armour Persia, 19th Centurycomprising a helmet (khula-khud), a shield (sipar), an arm-guard (bazuband), engraved and decorated en-suite in gold overlay with vegetal interlace, the helmet and shield with inscription-filled cartouches, the shield with roundels containing hares and paired birds, with quilted red cotton lining and old collection label numbered '184', the helmet with camail with steel and brass rings forming a repeat design of diamond motifs, with associated armour panel (char-aina) with similar decoration, mounted the shield 45 cm. diam.(4)Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection. Inscriptions: Persian verses describing a battle.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Roman banded agate cosmetic dish mounted as a spoon bearing an inscription with the name of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (reg. 1605-27) The agate dish 1st/ 2nd Century ADan agate and silver-gilt spoon; the bowl of the spoon carved from a piece of banded agate, the elliptical shape with a low foot ring on the underside, curved at one end and irregularly ground at the other, with an engraved inscription on the outer surface; the handle of silver gilt the dish 5.5 cm. long; the whole spoon 13.9 cm. longFootnotes:ProvenanceSotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, Carpets and Textiles, London, 17th October 1984, lot 232.Private UK collection, acquired at Spink in 1993.Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 19 April 2007, lot 436.The collection of Sheikh Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani (1966 - 2014).The inscription reads: Al-Sultan Jahangir Shah.The title 'Sultan' appears in the inscription on the black basalt throne of Prince Salim, that was made in Allahbad, but taken to Agra (see 'Jewelled Arts of Mughal India' in Society of Jewellery Historians Journal, vol. 10, 2003, p. 55)This agate bowl, now mounted as a spoon, was formerly a complete small cosmetic dish, dating from the Roman period. It has been broken and ground down, then reused to make the spoon. The inscription suggests that it was once in the collection of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. It is possible that the bowl was ground down in the Mughal period.The Mughal emperors are well known for inscribing their names and titles on objects in their possession, including manuscripts, jades, jewels, and ceramics. Jahangir noted unusual acquisitions in his journal, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri: for instance he remarks on the acquisition of a Timurid jade (Tuzuk vol 1, p. 409).Jahangir collected a variety of exotic materials, including natural phenomena such a meteorite which he had made into a knife, now in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington (Atil, Chase and Jett 1985, no. 36, pp. 220-225). It is inscribed on the blade: 'There fell in the reign of Jahangir Shah from lightning iron (a) glittering precious piece Jahangir (son of) Akbar ordered from it two swords and this knife and (a) dagger. In the year 1030 (November 1620-November 1621 AD) In the Year 16. 146.' The event is mentioned in the Tuzuk p.204-5. Another Roman period hardstone known in the Mughal period, although uninscribed, is a cameo of a horse mounted within a Mughal jade (formerly in the Falkiner Collection, London 1982 no. 378).Ming ceramics with Jahangir's name on them include a blue and white jug in the Chang Collection, Taipei, which is from the Yongle period and is inscribed with Jahangir's name within in a similar cartouche to the one found on the agate dish. Anther example is a yellow dish, Hongzhi mark and period (1488-1505), inscribed on the foot ring with name of Jahangir, dated 1021/1611-12, also the weight of 28 tola 2 masha. (V&A no. 551-1878; see London 1982 no.401).The most celebrated jewels inscribed for the Mughal emperors are a group of spinels, also known in the past as 'balas rubies'. Many of the imperial inscriptions carry the names of Jahangir and his son Shah Jahan, a noted expert on gems. The form of the inscriptions vary, and may include the name of the emperor and his lineage. A typical Jahangir period inscription may read Jahangir Shah-e Akbar Shah, sometimes (but not invariably) with a date and the regnal year. One such spinel is the Carew spinel now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London 1982 no. 237) which has several inscriptions from various owners.Inscribed jades formerly owned by Jahangir include 15th Century dark green jug with inscriptions set in cartouches dating the year of acquisition as 1619 (British Museum no. 1945-10-17-257, published Lentz and Lowry 1989 cat. 126, p. 225).The form of the inscription on the agate bowl is unusual, reading Jahangir Shah al-Sultan. However, an emerald in the Iranian Crown Jewels reads simply Jahangir Shah 1018 (AD 1613-14) (Meen and Tushingham p. 47), while another emerald in the same collection has a full list of epithets: Abu'l-Muzaffar Nur-ud-Din Jahangir Padshah Ghazi 1016 (AD 1607-8) (ibid). There was, therefore, no rigid protocol covering all inscriptions.Bibliography:Atil, Esin., Chase, W.T., Jett, Paul, Islamic Metalwork in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington 1985Lentz, T W., Lowry, Glenn D., Timur and the Princely Vision: Persian Art and Culture in the Fifteenth Century, Los Angeles 1989Skelton. R. et al., The Indian Heritage, exhibition catalogue, Victoria and Albert Museum, London 1982Meen, V.B., Tushingham, A.D., Crown Jewels of Iran, Toronto 1968.The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, or Memoirs of Jahangir, translated by Alexander Rogers, edited by Henry Beveridge. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1914.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
An illustrated leaf from from the Majalis al-'Ushshaq (Assemblies of Lovers) by Kamal al-Din Gazurgahi, depicting Shaykh Muhiyy al-Din A'rabi riding on a horse, coming across Sadr al-Din, with whom he was in love Persia, 16th CenturyPersian manuscript on gold-sprinkled paper, 7 lines to the page written in nasta'liq script in black ink with one heading in gold, inner margins ruled in colours and gold, illustration in gouache and gold 207 x 110 mm. (sight)Footnotes:ProvenanceMaggs Bros., London, year unknown (but 1970s or early 1980s: catalogue entry pasted to reverse of frame).Private UK collection.To quote E. G. Browne's A Literary History of Persia, vol. III, London 1920, pp. 439-440: 'The Majalis al-'Ushshaq is a mixture of prose and verse which takes as its theme 'real' (i.e. ideal) and 'metaphorical' (i.e. material) love, and the latter considered as a bridge to the former'. The work consists of 76 sections on saints, mystics and noblemen, describing each person's passionate love. (This leaf is from the the twenty-fourth section). The text has sometimes been attributed to the Timurid Sultan Husain Bayqara (reg. 1469-1506), but some contemporary sources attribute it instead to a Herat courtier, Kamal al-Din Husain Gazarghi. For an example of the text copied in the Punjab or Afghanistan, 17th Century, see Sam Fogg, Islamic Manuscripts, London 2000, pp. 144-145, no. 50.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Mughal jade mirror in a fitted Qajar lacquer case made for Hamzah Mirza Hishmat al-Dawlah, Amir-i Jang, uncle of Nasir al'Din Shah Qajar North India and Persia, the mirror 17th/ 18th Century, the lacquer case made between AH 1295 (AD 1868-69) and AH 1297 (AD 1880)the mirror of octagonal form, the back carved in relief with a central flowerhead surrounded by foliate tendrils and other flowerheads, the border with repeating foliate motifs, the front with bevelled mirror glass, within a hatched gold band, the fitted lacquer case of octagonal form with hinged lid and silver clasp, decorated in polychrome and gilt with floral sprays, perching birds and nastaliq inscriptions to cover and reverse, the interior of the lid with a border of undulating floral vines 13.2 x 9.3 cm. Footnotes:ProvenanceHamzah Mirza Hishmat al-Dawlah, Amir-i Jang (d. 1880).Private Greek collection, acquired by the vendor's grandfather whilst ambassador to Iran in the 1960s. Inscriptions: two Persian couplets in praise of Hamzah Mirza Hishmat al-Dawlah, Amir-i Jang.Hamzah Mirza Hishmat al-Dawlah, Amir-i Jang was the 21st son of 'Abbas Mirza and the uncle of Nasir al-Din Shah. He was appointed Minister of War, and titled Hishmat al-Dawlah in AH 1285 (AD 1868-9). He held governorship of various provinces during his life. For more information see M. Bandad, Dictionary of National Biography of Iran, Vol. 1, pp.462-8 and H. Mahbubi Ardakani, chehel sal tarikh-e iran, additional notes on al-ma'athir wa al-athar, vol. 2, Teheran, 1368 sh. (1989), pp.465-6).The gold surrounding the mirror glass is directly comparable to that on a mirror dated to c. 1700 in the Victoria and Albert Museum from the collection of Colonel Charles Seton Gutherie (02587(IS).Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: * R* VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A minai pottery bowl Persia, 12th/13th Centuryof slightly curved conical form on a short foot, decorated overglaze in polychrome on a cream ground with three simurghs flanked by harpies and palmettes, the rim with a band of pseudo-inscriptions in kufic, the exterior with a band of cursive script 19.6 cm diam.Footnotes:ProvenanceChristie's South Kensington, Arts of Islam, 5 October 2012, lot 741.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A Qajar moulded pottery tile depicting two youths with dancing maidens Persia, circa 1880of rectangular form, moulded and decorated in cobalt-blue, turquoise, manganese, pink and ochre with black outline on a white ground with elegant youths and dancing maidens in a landscape, pavilions in the background, the interstices with floral sprays, the upper border containing an undulating floral vine with perching birds 36.3 x 32.5 cm. Footnotes:Important Notice to BuyersSome countries e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of Iranian-origin works. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Maqbool Fida Husain (Indian, 1915-2011)Untitled (Horse) signed upper leftoil on canvas120.5 x 120cm (47 7/16 x 47 1/4in).Executed in the early 1980sFootnotes:ProvenancePrivate Indian Collection: presented by the artist to the singer, Mohammed Rafi. Thence by descent.Private Dubai Collection: acquired from the above by the owner in 2015.Born in Maharashtra, India in 1915, Maqbool Fida Husain's initial interest in art was piqued through his study of calligraphy at a Madrasa, and his interest was further developed during his studies at the Sir J J School of Art. He honed his skills in the 1930s painting posters for the Bollywood industry whilst also painting landscapes in Gujarat. As a founding member of the 1947 Progressive Artists Group, formed after the partition of India, he sought to create a new movement in art that was in direct opposition to the nationalistic rhetoric espoused by the Bengal School.He held numerous exhibitions over his career, notably his first solo exhibition in Zurich in 1952, at India House in New York in 1964 and the São Paulo Biennale in Brazil in 1971.Over a career that straddled decades, he employed his modified Cubist style to depict themes and topics that include the Ramayana, Mother Teresa, the Mahabharata, the British Raj and motifs of Indian urban and rural life.He was the recipient of multiple awards, some of which include honorary doctorates from the universities of Benares, Mysore and Jamia Millia, the Padma Shri in 1955, the Padma Bhushan in 1973, the Padma Vishushan in 1989 and the Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Shikhar Award for lifetime achievement in 1997.The horse has been one of the key elements in the artist's oeuvre over the course of his career, and is here portrayed with a gaping mouth and wide staring eyes. The crazed animal has been executed in opposing colours exemplifying its vigour and strength. 'Like his bulls, spiders and lamps on women's thighs, boastful snakes and blackly passionate suns, Husain's horses are subterranean creatures. Their nature is not intellectualized; it is rendered as sensation or as abstract movement, with a capacity to stir up vague premonitions and passions, in a mixture of ritualistic fear and exultant anguish.' (R. Bartholomew and S. Kapur, Husain, New York, 1972, p. 42)This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Devi Prasad Roy Chowdhury (Indian, 1899-1975)An Inmate of the Harem signed centre right in Bengalipencil, pen and ink and watercolour with heightening in gold and white on paper laid down on board23 x 31cm (9 1/16 x 12 3/16in).Footnotes:ProvenanceAcquired by a previous owner in the late 1990s an auction in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.There are two labels on the reverse, one printed Exhibition/Modern (East) Indian Painting/Sent by Mr. O. C. Gangoly,/Calcutta, with the number of the picture (20), the title and the name of the artist in ink, and a second typewritten label with the price of $270.'He [Chowdhury] did not attempt the emotional approach and peter out into sickly sentimentality. If his women were decorative they were meant to be so [...] They were not intended to be manifestations of a spiritual ideal, but to frankly convey their human charm...' (Karl Khandalavala, 'Decorative Artist', in P. R. Ramachandra Rao (ed.), Chowdhury and his Art, Bombay 1943, p. 73, quoted in N. Tuli, The Flamed Mosaic: Indian Contemporary Painting, Ahmedabad 1997, p. 195, n. 48).Lot to be sold without reserve.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
* JUDITH L BRIDGLAND (AUSTRALIAN / SCOTTISH b. 1962),HEDGEROW, CARNBEEoil on canvas, signed, titled and dated 2008 label versoimage size 80cm x 80cm, overall size 98cm x 98cm Framed and under glass.Note: Judith was born in 1962 in Australia, and trained in Glasgow, where she now lives and works. Her bold, exuberant and vibrantly joyful landscapes have led to sell-out shows in Scotland, London and the rest of the UK as well as exhibiting further afield in America, Russia and Sweden. Working in oils, her paintings use bold, vigorous, rhythmical strokes of impasto paint combined with delicate brushwork. This gives an exciting texture to the paint surface along with a sense of abstraction, which reflects nature’s contrasts and delicate harmonies. However, whilst the work is very painterly, it also has a strong sense of place. Winner of the 1999 MacRoberts Open Prize, the 2010 House for An Art Lover Award, and the Glasgow Art Club Award in 2016, Judith is also a member of the Paisley Art Institute, and a regular exhibitor at the Royal Glasgow Institute and Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. Paintings in private collections in England, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Turkey, Mexico, Canada, USA, Bermuda, Australia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. Collections include: Sophos Plc Global Headquarters, Arisaig Partners, The Royal Bank of Scotland World Headquarters, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University, British Midland (on permanent exhibition in the Executive Lounge at Glasgow International Airport). Work also owned as part of the Helen Cargill Thomson Collection, gifted to the University of Strathclyde. Judith's highly successful 14th Feb - 10th March 2020 exhibition at Duncan R. Miller Fine Arts (London) was her fourteenth solo show at this prestigious London gallery.Condition report: Condition is very good overall, with no visible signs of restoration, damage, or known issues.
Late 19th century Belgium slate mantle clock with an eight-day French rack striking movement striking the hours and half-hours on a coiled gong, dial with an enamel chapter ring and a gilt recessed centre, hours in upright Arabic numerals and minute markers, with steel Fleur de Lys hands, brass bezel and bevelled glass, case on a stepped plinth with frieze depicting Aesculapius the ancient mythical god of medicine, dial flanked by two recessed fluted columns with Corinthian capitals supporting an architectural pediment with applied decorative relief. Movement stamped R&C for Richard & Cie, London and Paris. With pendulum.Dimensions: Height: 40cm Length/Width: 30cm Depth/Diameter: 16cm
A German knife bayonet with scabbard and Troddel, the blade marked Weyersberg Kirschbaum & Co Soligen, stamped 74.R.13.23 to guard for a unit of 74th Regiment of Hannoverian Infantry, bayonet 38cm long, some pitting to blade but generally good, indentations to grip, age related wear to scabbard, Troddel worn
GERHARD HOEHME Greppin bei Dessau 1920 - 1989 Neuss: DAS MERKE und andere Texte aus „Spuren“ von Ernst Bloch. Mit 7 Orig.-Aquatintaradierungen (davon 5 in Farbe) und einem Nachwort von R. Bothner. Heidelberg, Günter Gastrock, 1985. 4°. Illustr. gepr. OPpbd. in OPp.-Schuber. 69 SS. Hoehme 133-139. - Expl. „12“, eines von 102 Expl. der einfachen Ausgabe. Im Impressum nummeriert. Radierungen sämtlich signiert, datiert und nummeriert „12/200“. Auf Vélin. Schuber mit schwachen Kratzspuren. Die im Impressum angegebene Gesamtauflage von 265 Expl. wurde nicht erreicht, da der Künstler starb, bevor die Radierungen aller Bücher gedruckt waren. [ms]
CARL HOFER Karlsruhe 1878 - 1955 Berlin: Nächtliche Überfahrt - Maisonntag - Müdigkeit. 3 Bll. Kaltnadelradierungen mit (kräftigem) Plattenton 1899/1900. Rathenau R 3, II; 5, I (von II) und 28. - Eines von ca. 30 Expl. ohne Bezeichnung in der Platte links unten (Bl. 2; Abdruck vor der Auflage für den Karlsruher Radierverein). Sämtlich mit dem Monogramm und Datum in der Platte. Auf kräftigem bzw. festem chamoisfarbenem Vélin. 13,7 x 17,8 bis 21 x 25,3 cm. Äußerer Rand minimal unfrisch (Bl. 2). Breite Ränder von Bl. 1/3 schwach fleckig und mit leichten Klebespuren (Bl. 1). [ms]
WILLI ROBERT HUTH Erfurt 1890 - 1977 Amrum: „Fischerei-Hafen“. Oel auf Hartfaserplatte 1953. Monogrammiert und datiert sowie verso signiert, datiert und betitelt. Mit Künstler und Titel bezeichnetes Etikett der Vierten Kunstausstellung 1954 in Frankfurt am Main des 1950 wiedergegründeten Deutschen Künstlerbundes auf der Rückseite appliziert. 100 x 75 cm. W. R. Huth „gehört zur zweiten, sog. 'verschollenen' Generation der Expressionisten... Bis ins Spätwerk stehen seine Arbeiten in der Trad. des Expressionismus. Die Farbigkeit der Bilder reicht von intensiven, sprühenden bis zu satten, gedeckten Tönen“ (AKL online). Dargestellt ist hier vermutlich der Fischereihafen der Insel Amrum, die er nach dem Krieg regelmäßig besuchte. Sammlung Pachen, Rockenhausen. Gerahmt. [ms]
MARTIN RITTER Glauchau 1905 - 2001 Baldham bei München : Blumenstilleben. Oel auf Press-Span. Signiert. 85 x 41 cm. Ritter zählt zu den Künstlern der „Verschollenen Generation“. Nach dem Studium in Breslau bei O. Mueller und Dresden bei R. Dreher nahm er an zahlreichen wichtigen Ausstellungen teil. Während des III. Reiches lehnte er wegen seiner antifaschistischen Einstellung eine Professur ab und arbeitete danach nur im privaten Umfeld. Sein gesamtes Werk wurde 1945 bei dem Bombenangriff auf Dresden zerstört. Nach einem Aufenthalt in Neustadt an der Weinstraße siedelte er schließlich 1970 nach Baldham über. Seine Motive waren neben Landschaften vor allem Blumenstilleben. Gerahmt. [ms]
SAMMELNUMMERN - VERSCHIEDENE KÜNSTLER: Derrière le Miroir. 10 Ans d'Edition. Heft mit 6 meist farb. Orig.-Graphiken (1 Holzschnitt, 2 Radierungen, 3 Lithos; einschl. Umschlag), zahlr. Abb. und Text. Paris, Maeght, 1956. Folio. Orig.-illustr. OBrosch. 75 SS. DLM Nr. 92/93. - Enthält Arbeiten von J. Bazaine, M. Chagall (Cramer Bücher 26. Mourlot 153), A. Giacometti (Lust 62), J. Miró (Cramer Bücher 36. Dupin 105 und Mourlot 174) und R. Ubac. Radierungen von Giacometti und Miró jeweils Abdrucke von der gestrichenen Platte. Sehr gut erhalten. [ms]
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