THE MAIN COURTYARD OF THE MASOUDIEH PALACE (EMARAT-E MASOUDIEH) IN TEHRAN
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE UK COLLECTION
Late Qajar Iran, early 20th century, signed by Asadullah al-Hosseini

Oil on canvas, the horizontal composition depicting the main facade and courtyard of the late Qajar building in Tehran known as Masoudieh Palace, built in 1878 by Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar for his son Masoud Mirza, the governor of Isfahan, as his residence in Tehran, the depiction faithful to the architectural arrangement of the palace and showcasing a clear mix of European styles and Iranian traditions, above the main entrance an arched frieze decorated with the Shir o Shamshir (lion and sword) symbol, the Qajar dynasty's icon, the tympanum surmounted by the Iranian flag, the building divided in two registers with horseshoe-shaped arches and gridded glass windows providing enough amount of fresh air and sunlight into the rooms, the architecture conveying an overall European design to the palace, signed in red on the lower right corner by Asadullah al-Hosseini, mounted and framed, 39.5cm x 70cm excluding the gilt wooden frame.