AN ILLUSTRATED MANUSCRIPT FOLIO: THE COURT OF SULTAN SELIM
Safavid Iran, 17th century

Opaque pigments, pencil, ink and gold on paper, the loose folio illustrated with an enthronement scene, possibly once part of a manuscript delving on the history of Ottoman Turkey, Sultan Selim portrayed on his throne in an intricate, typically Safavid architectural setting beneath a cobalt blue gold-starred sky, in conversation with courtiers, in the foreground covered chargers of food carried through by busy attendants, cypress trees and prunus blossoms invading the golden hills in the background, with a Turkish inscription above the illustration, set in double illuminated borders, the inner border typical of Safavid manuscript opening bifolios, the outer border with scrolling gold branches, a likely later addition, laid on pink and brown frames on modern cardboard, mounted, framed and glazed, the illustration 15.5cm x 7cm, the folio 24cm x 17cm, 42.3cm x 33cm including the frame.