A QAJAR POLYCHROME-PAINTED ENAMELLED GILT COPPER QALYAN CUP WITH MOTHER AND CHILD PORTRAITS
Iran, 19th century

Of typical flaring cylindrical shape, with an everted reinforced rim, the exterior decorated with polychrome enamels and gold, alternating cusped cartouches and oval medallions with figural portraits focusing on motherhood and the bond between mothers and their children, two portraits with nudes, in the latter two the subjects fully clad in Western-inspired clothes, all set against a vibrant golden ground filled with colourful floral bouquets and foliage, the lower edge with halves of green roundels filled with golden vegetal sprays against cobalt blue ground, the interior painted in dark green enamel, 6cm high.