[CT]introduction

770 Both of Bahrâm's signed works are dated A.H. 1050/1640 (see cat. no. 145), seven years before the earliest of Shaykh `Abbâsi's paintings (cat. no. 146).

771 The effect of the pointillism technique adopted by these artists is the same as that of the nineteenth-century French Impressionists, but adapted to a smaller scale. Other painters such as Mohammad-`Ali (cat. no. 125) and Mohammad-Qâsem used the same technique, but at a slightly earlier date and not in this refined mode.

772 An equally daring composition is perhaps the Teymurid Prince Seated in a Garden (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 14.545; see Lentz and Lowry, no. 86). While the Boston painting was inspired by Chinese models, cat. no. 145 is Persian in taste. Birds and blossoming branches are common subjects in Chinese paintings, but the relative scale of the elements and the interaction of the two lovers contribute to a unique composition.

773 See A. Welch and S. C. Welch, Arts of the Islamic Book: The Collection of Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1982), no. 76. A third signed Bahrâm is said to be in a private collection in Tehrân.

774 See R. Skelton, "`Abbasi," Encyclopaedia Iranica (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1975-), vol. 1, pp. 86-88.

775 Ibid., p. 86.

776 See A. Welch, Shah `Abbas and the Arts of Isfahan (New York: Asia House Gallery, 1973), no. 63.

777 Abol-Hasan Ghefâri-ye Kâshâni, Golshan-e morâd (Rose garden of desires), ed. G. Tabât­­­­­­­­­­­­­âbâi' Majd (Tehrân: Zarrin Press, 1369), p. 439.

778 See O. F. Akimushkin et al. Albom indiyskikh i persidskikh miniatyur XV-XVIII v. (Moscow, 1962), no. 77.

779 See, for instance, the attribution on a painting in the Sadruddin Aga Khan collection, published in Welch, Shah `Abbas, no. 73.

780 For a reproduction, see Akimushkin et al., Albom indiyskikh i persidskikh miniatyur XV-XVIII v., no. 77. That `Ali-Qoli copied Indian works is clearly established in an album sold in Paris (see n. 3 above).

781 See no. 35 in the album of Mohammad-Bâqer, referred to in n. 3 above.

782 An earlier assertion alleging Mohammad-Zamân's passage to India and Europe seems to have been refuted; see Akimushkin et al., Albom indiyskikh i persidskikh miniatyur XV-XVIII v., p. 2.

783 Riazul-Islam, Indo-Persian Relations (Tehrân: Iranian Cultural Foundation, 1970), p. 8.

784 Mirzâ Mohammad-Haydar Dughlât, who accompanied Bâbor to Samarkand, related that Bâbor actually donned the taj; see A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia Being the Tarikh-i-Rashidi, ed. N. Elias, trans. E. Denison Ross (reprint; London: Curzon Press and Barnes and Noble, 1972), p. 246.

785 Riazul-Islam, Indo-Persian Relations, pp. 8, 192-93.

786 A painting by Abol-Hasan, a Mughal artist, now in the Freer Gallery of Art (45.9), portrays Shâh `Abbâs I dwarfed by an imposing Jahângir (although Shâh `Abbâs is often described as short and stocky). Nevertheless Jahângir is embracing Shâh `Abbâs, addressing him as his brother. See M. C. Beach, The Imperial Image: Paintings for the Mughal Court (Washington, D.C.: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1981), no. 17b.

787 The only serious point of contention in the Safavid-Mughal relationship concerned the citadel of Qandahâr in present-day Afghanistan. Although Homâyun had conceded Qandahâr to the Safavids, time and again the citadel was reoccupied by Mughal forces purporting to bring order to the city on behalf of the shâh. Shâh `Abbâs II managed to seize Qandahâr from Shâh Jahân in 1648. On his way to Qandahâr, Shâh `Abbâs II had addressed a letter to Shâh Jahân requesting the peaceful return of Qandahâr so that the "edifice of friendship [between the two dynasties] shall become stronger." Mohammad-Tâher Vahid-e Qazvini, `Abbâsnâmé (Book of `Abbâs), ed. E. Dehqân (Arâk [Iran]: Farvardin Press, 1329), p. 102.

788 Riazul-Islam, Indo-Persian Relations, p. 128.

789 H. R. Roemer, "The Safavid Period," Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge University Press, 1975-), vol. 6, p. 301.

790 This special version of the Qezelbâsh headgear was introduced during Shâh `Abbâs I's reign and continued into the reign of `Abbâs II; see, for instance, Shâh `Abbâs II Receiving the Mughal Ambassador, in the Sadruddin Aga Khan collection, published in Welch, Shah `Abbas, no. 63; see also cat. no. 115, fig. 49, and B. Schmitz, "On a Special Hat Introduced during the Reign of Shah Abbas the Great," Iran 22 (1984), pp. 103-12.

791 The margins can be attributed to Mohammad-Bâqer based on the similarity of design with another page of the album signed by the artist; see Mohammad-Bâqer Album, nos. 15-16 (Drouot, June 23, 1982).

792 Welch, Shah `Abbas, p. 117.

793 See C. Adle, Ecritures de l'union: Reflets du temps des troubles (Paris: Librairie De Nobele, 1980), p. 59.

794 Welch, Shah `Abbas, no. 72. See also E. Sims, "The European Print Source of Paintings by the Seventeenth-Century Persian Painter, Muhammad-Zamân Ibn Hâji Yusuf of Qum," in Le stampe e la diffusione delle immagini e degli stili (Bologna: Editrice L-Club, 1983), pp. 73-84.

795 Compared to those by `Ali-Qoli or Hâji Mohammad, leaves painted by Mohammad-Zamân are usually larger, more elongated, and clustered in smaller groups. Hâji Mohammad grouped leaves in much larger numbers, and `Ali-Qoli painted dense foliage on a branch.

796 In 1929 and 1931 André Malraux, accompanied by his first wife Clara, visited Iran. Of Esfahân he wrote: "J'aime Ispahan comme Stendahl a aimé Milan." This fresco was probably acquired at that time; see André Malraux et le Japon eternel, exh. cat. (Tokyo: Bunka Insatsu, 1978), p. 103. See also A. Madsen, Silk Roads: The Asian Adventures of Clara & André Malraux (London: I. B. Tauris, 1990), p. 258.

797 B. Fragner, Repertorium Persischer Herrscherurkunden (Freiburg: Klaus Schwarz Verlag, 1980), p. 189.

798 A similar dagger is depicted on a seventeenth-century Persian-European oil painting in the F. Farmanfarmaian collection.

799 Mohammad-Zamân and `Ali-Qoli sometimes use "raqam-e" or "raqam-e kaminé" but never "râqemaho," while all four paintings plus a pen-box that bear the name Hâji Mohammad incorporate "râqemaho" in the signature; Adle, Ecritures de l'union, figs. 4, 18, 24, 25, 31. The only exception seems to be the signature on a pen-box (dated A.H. 1116/1704) that bears the inscription: "raqam zad kamtarin Hâji Mohammad"; idem, no. 6.

800 Ibid., no. 6.

801 P. Avery, "Nâdir Shâh and the Afsharid Legacy," in Cambridge History of Iran (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975-), vol. 7, [pp ?].

802 Ibid., pp. 130-31.

803 The number twenty thousand is approximate, obtained by totaling figures reported by J. R. Perry in Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747-1779 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), pp. 79-80.

804 Mar`ashi-ye Safavi, Majma'ottavârikh (Collection of chronicles) (Tehrân: Tahuri Library, 1362), p. 85.

805 Ibid.

806 See B. Âtâbây, Fehrest-e moraqqa`ât-e ketâbkhâné-ye saltanati (Catalogue of albums in the imperial library) (Tehrân: Zibâ Press, 1353), p. 325; A. Godard, "Un album de portraits des princes timurides de l'Inde," Athâr-é Iran 2, no. 2 (1937), p. 241.

807 J. R. Perry, "Âdel Shah," in Encyclopaedia Iranica (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1975-), vol. 1, p. 452. Mar`ashi-ye Safavi names him both as `Âdel Shâh and `Ali Shâh; see Mar`ashi, Majma'ottavârikh, pp. 85, 97.

808 This suggestion was previously made by L. S. Diba, "Visual and Written Sources: Dating Eighteenth-Century Silks," in Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran, 16th-19th Centuries, ed. C. Bier (Washington, D.C.: The Textile Museum, 1987), p. 96; see also L. Lockhart, Nadir Shah: A Critical Study Based Mainly Upon Contemporary Sources (London: Luzac, 1938), p. 271.

809 Nâder had appointed `Ali-Qoli as governor of Mashhad in 1737 and arranged his marriage to the daughter of Abol-Feyz Mohammad Bahâdor Khân, the ruler of Bokhâra; see Perry, "Âdel Shah," p. 452.

810 The first seal reads: "Ze lotf-e Nâder-e dowrân, khadiv-e haft-eqlim / `Ali-Qoli shod qâ'em maqâm-e Ebrâhim" (By the grace of the rarity (Nâder) of the age, the khedive of seven continents / `Ali-Qoli was appointed chancellor of Ebrâhim).

811 See A. K. S. Lambton, "Quis Custodiet Custodies?" Studia Iranica 5 (1956), pp. 125-48.

812 Perry, Karim Khan Zand, p. 5. Mohammad was succeeded by his nephew, Bâbâ Khân.

813 There are two known dated illustrated manuscripts from the Afshârid period, both slightly earlier than the illustrations of cat. no. 171. One is a copy of the Dorré-ye nâderé (Rare pearl) of Mirzâ Mohammad Mahdi-ye Astarâbâdi dated A.H. 1171/1757, in a private collection in Tehrân (see A. Borumand, "Mo`arrefi-ye yek noskhé-ye khati-ye mossavar-e târikh-e jahangoshâ-ye Nâderi" [Introducing a manuscript of the world-conquering history of Nâder], Honar va Mardom [Tehrân: Khordâd, 2537], pp. 41-45); the other is in the Oriental Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg (see Diba, "Visual and Written Sources," pp. 89-90).

814 Another tinted drawing of similar style and handwriting, dated 1797, is reproduced in S. Maslenitsya, Persian Art in the Collection of the Museum of Oriental Art (Leningrad: Aurora Art Publishers, 1975), no. 121, where the painter's name seems to read as "Mahmud."

815 K. Marx, "The 18th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, Part 1," in On Revolution, vol. 1 of The Karl Marx Library, ed. and trans. S. K. Padover (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971), p. 245.

816 According to the Shi`a tradition of the Twelve Imams, the twelfth and last imam was in hiding and would reemerge to combat injustice and reestablish peace and justice on earth. Claiming to represent the Hidden Imam has been a powerful source of legitimacy for militant clergy.

817 M. Bâmdâd, Târikh-e rejâl-e Iran, qorun-e 12-13-14 (History of the great men of A.H. 12-14th century Iran) (Tehrân: Zavvâr Publishers, 1347), vol. 3, p. 63. Bâmdâd cites numerous sources (Drouville, Dieulafoy, Rawilson, Curzon) that refer to seven hundred or more wives.

818 See M. J. Sheikh-ol-Islami, "Ahmad Shâh" in Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 1, pp. 657-60.

819 For a general discussion of Persian lacquerwork, see L. Diba, "Lacquerwork," in The Arts of Persia, ed. R. W. Ferrier (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1989), pp. 243-53.

820 Drouot, June 23, 1982, lot H39.

821 See S. J. Falk, Qajar Painting (London: Faber and Faber, 1972), no. 15, figs. 13-15.

822 Ahmad Mirza Azododdowlé, Târikh-e Azodi (Azodi chronicles) (Tehrân: Mazâher Publishers, 1328), p. 66. According to Azodi, Mohammad-`Ali was to be sent immediately to Shirâz to avoid the wrath of his great-uncle.

823 J. B. Fraser, Narrative of a Journey to Khorasan in the Years 1821 and 1822 (London, 1825), pp. 146-47.

824 See Perry, Karim Khan Zand, p. 285.

825 Falk, Qajar Painting, no. 1.

826 The Peacock Throne of Fath-`Ali Shâh should not be confused with the Peacock Throne of Shâh Jahân. Nâder brought the latter back to Iran from India, but it was damaged and probably destroyed when Nâder was murdered. The Qâjâr Peacock Throne was named after one of Fath-`Ali Shâh's favorite wives, his forty-second, Tâvus Khânom (Peacock Lady), a concubine from Esfahân; see Bâmdâd, Târikh-e rejâl-e Iran, vol. 2, p. 103, and G. N. Curzon, Persia and the Persian Question (reprint; London: Frank Cass, 1966), pp. 317-22.

827 D. Wright, The English amongst the Persians, during the Qajar Period, 1787-1921 (London: Heinemann, 1977), p. 6.

828 B. W. Robinson, quoting E. G. Brown, believes that the painter of the original mural was `Abdollâh Khân; see idem, "`Abdallah Khân," in Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 1, pp. 197-98.

829 Curzon, Persia, pp. 338-39.

830 See B. W. Robinson, Persian Paintings from the India Office Library (London: Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1976), nos. 1280-83.

831 All the copies are of non-Iranian provenance, including one in the Negârestân Museum purchased at Sotheby's in October 1978.

832 According to inscriptions in the manuscript, `Ali son of Ahmad son of Abu-Bakr, otherwise known as Bisotun, compiled Sa`di's poems (ghazals) twice. The first compilation, assembled in 1326, was organized according to the first letter of the first verse of the ghazal; in 1334 he arranged them according to the last letter. Bisotun added his own dibâché to the 1334 compilation, including a preface and five sections modeled after the Golestân of Sa`di.

833 Branded as apocryphal by E. Brown and C. Rieu, the Tozuk of Teymur is recognized by Muhammad Abdul Ghani as an original work based on sayings of Teymur recorded by his scribes. See Ghani, A History of Persian Language and Literature at the Mughal Court (Lahore: Hijra International, 1983), pts. 1 and 2, pp. 15-32.

834 Torbati claimed to have found the original Turkish version in a library in Yemen. Shâh Jahân discovered discrepancies between this text and the Zafarnâmé and ordered Afzal son of Tarbiat Khân to rectify them; see C. A. Storey, Persian Literature: A Bibliographical Survey, vol. 1, pt. 1 (London: Luzac, 1970), p. 280.

835 At the turn of the century Sanjar was ruler only in his fiefdom of Khorâsân; he became supreme soltân after 1118.

836 See Bâmdâd, Târikh-e rejâl-e Iran, vol. 3, p. 291. A photo of Sahâmol-molk published by Bâmdâd is inscribed with the same epithet as in the colophon of cat. no. 161, "Amirol-omarâ-e `Ezâm" (Grand Amir).

837 See Bayâni, vol. 3, p. 666.

838 Ibid., p. 690.

839 See M. Karimzadeh, The Lives and Art of Old Painters of Iran (London: Interlink Monograph, 1985), p. 349, where an article by Y. Zoka is quoted, and B. Âtâbây, Fehrest-e divânhâ-ye khati-ye ketâbkhâné-ye saltanati(Catalogue of literary manuscripts in the imperial library) (Tehrân: Zibâ Press, 2535), pp. 1375-93.

840 See Bayâni, vol. 2, p. 371. Amirol-kottâb's real name was `Abdol-Hamid-e Malekol-kalâmi.