*A QAJAR LACQUEREDPAPIER-MÂCHÉPANEL: FATH' ALI SHAH HUNTING PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION Iran, 19th century Of rectangular shape, the horizontal composition painted and lacquered in warm polychromes with a centrally-positioned riding Fath' Ali Shah hunting a stag with a lance and hounds in a wooded landscape, the king and steed in full ceremonial regalia in a fashion very much present in Qajar royal portraits, the attendants in a minor scale to the left conveying status and distance, the border of scrolling flowers in gold and maroon, mounted, framed and glazed, 26cm x 40.5 cm (visible), 42cm x 56.5cm including frame. For an interesting discussion on Fath' Ali Shah's lacquer and pictorial portraits, please see Khalili, Robinson and Stanley,Lacquer of the Islamic Lands: Part 1, London, 1996, pp. 160 - 161. According to these scholars, his portraits as a handsome, virile, fertile, male sovereign were not only due to mere vanity but instead connected to deeply-rootedraison d'état. In both life and art, Fath' Ali Shah's deportment and appearance were part of a conscious programme of political propaganda, highlighting him as a man fit to wield absolute power in Iran. A very similar composition to the one in our lot, though smaller, can be seen in a book cover part of the Khalili collection (Khalili, Robinson and Stanley,Lacquer of the Islamic Lands: Part 1, London, 1996, p. 165, fig. 121).