A ROYAL PORTRAIT BY AQA BURZURG SHIRAZI
Portrait of Crown Prince Nasir al-Din Mirza
By Aqa Buzurg Shirazi (fl.1840-60)
Qajar Persia, dated A.H. 1262 / 1846 A.D.
Opaque pigments with gold on paper
14 by 8 in.; 35.5 by 20.5 cm. painting
14 ½ by 8 2/3 in.; 37 by 22 cm. folio
INSCRIPTIONS
tasvir-i mubarak-i sarkar navvab-i ashraf-i vala nasir al-din mirza vali’ahd-i dawlat-i abad muddat-i bahir[a]-i qahira
“Blessed painting of the commander, the most honourable, exalted deputy, Nasir al-Din Mirza, Crown Prince of the eternal, superior, victorious state.”
A signature reads:
raqam-i kamtarin banda-i dargah-i hazrat-i shahanshahi aqa buzurg shirazi fi shahr rabi’al-awwal 1262
“Drawing of the lowliest slave of the court of His Royal Majesty, Aqa Buzurg Shirazi, in the month of Rabi’al-Awwal 1262 (1846).”
PROVENANCE
Joseph Naus (1849-1920), Brussels
By descent, private collection, Belgium, to 2025
Joseph Henri Naus was a Belgian national who travelled to Tehran in 1898 as part of a trade delegation. Having helped to increase customs revenues substantially, within a year, he was subsequently appointed by Muzaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar (r.1896-1907), to various government posts, becoming head of the treasury, customs, taxation, postal services and security. He left Iran in 1907.
SUBJECT
Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar (1831-96) was the fourth Qajar Shah of Iran (r.1848-96). He modernised the country with advances in education and by introducing the telegraph, newspapers, photography and the railways. He was also the first shah to visit Europe. However, Naser developed a dictatorial manner and, confined by a small army, he was unable to control revolts over tax reforms and the power of the tribal and religious leaders. He was assassinated while praying at the Abdol-Azimin Shrine in Rey, near Teheran, in 1896.
ARTIST
For two portraits by Aqa Buzurg Shirazi, a watercolour portrait of Mihr ‘Ali Khan Shuja’ al-Mulk, dated A.H.1273/1857 A.D., in a private collection, and an oil on canvas depicting Mirza Aqa Khan, dated A.H.1284/1867-8 A.D., in the Soudavar Collection.