TWO LOOSE MURAQQA' ALBUM PAGES WITH FLORAL MOTIFS
Iran and India, late 19th - early 20th century

Opaque pigments, ink and pencil on paper, comprising a horizontal album page with black ink studies of lush bouquets of roses, daisies, carnations and poppies on one side, an inscription in black ink Urdu at the top reading Nawab Sadiq 'Ali Khan Bahadur; and a European gentleman on horseback followed by two Indian servants with dogs on the other side, a city in the background with a building resembling a church, both compositions set within concentric polychrome-painted and gilt floral borders, 30.8cm x 21cm; and another similar muraqqa' page with the classical gol-o-bolbol (rose and nightingale) composition, marked with a washed oval stamp on the lower right, pasted onto later grey and light green cardboard album borders, 42cm x 29.5cm.