THE KING'S ASSASSINATION
Qajar Iran, 19th century

Opaque pigments and black ink heightened with gold on paper, the horizontal composition depicting the assassination of a king dressed in typical Qajar courtly attire, his gem-encrusted crown and pearl-studded epaulets also typical of the Qajar period, possibly once incorporated as an illustration into a manuscript of the Mirror for Princes genre, framed within two rectangular cartouches each with 12ll. of black and blue nasta'liq calligraphy, the recto once pasted onto thicker cardboard and with traces of further text, set within gold and polychrome rules, 17cm x 19.5cm.

The text, most likely an extract from a Mirror for Princes, suggests "beheading anyone who is plotting against you and could bear you ill-will". The accompanying illustration may then be a cautionary warning demonstrating the point: even someone that looks like an old and pious man can turn into a revengeful assassin.

Dimensions: 17cm x 19.5cm