English: Meanwhile, for comparison and contrast: Muhammad Shah Qajar (r.1834-48)

Source: http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/search/LotDetail.asp?sid=&intObjectID=4580053&SE=CMWCAT03+120606+%2D1384603341+&QR=M+1+289+Aqc0000900+104955++Aqc0000900+&entry=india&SU=1&RQ=True&AN=290 (downloaded Sept. 2005)

"MUHAMMAD SHAH QAJAR, BY AHMAD, DATED AH 1260 1844 AD. Oil on canvas, the Shah seated on a chair in an interior wearing a red coat copiously embellished with pearls and diamonds, in a blue sash, jewelled epaulettes, bazubands, tassels and cuffs, with a thick beard and wearing a tall black cap encrusted with gems incorporating an inscription, holding a sceptre completely covered in diamonds and rubies, in his lap a sword encrusted with diamonds, on a carpet decorated with pearls, identificary inscription in cusped cartouche reading Al-Sultan b. al-Sultan Muhammad Shah Qajar, the painting signed faintly in the lower leftt raqam kamtarim Ahmad 1260, within a border of panels of nastal'liq verses divided by cusped roundels containing a hymn in his praise, the calligraphy signed in a green cartouche in the lower right corner Muhammad Isma'il ..., small repaired tear, re-lined, framed. 87½ x 50in. (222.5 x 127cm.)

Lot Notes: An outstanding painting of Muhammad Shah in his imperial regalia, this is one of the finest known portraits of the third Qajar ruler. His face is carefully characterised and the attention to detail is exquisite. Bejewelled surfaces gleam with a crystalline clarity, some catching the light, some in the shade. Areas of fabric are enlivened by subtle modulations of tone and an undergarment of fine Kashmir cloth is just visible beneath his coat.