A QAJAR POLYCHROME-PAINTED ENAMELLED COPPER QALYAN CUP WITH YOUTHS AND LOVERS
Iran, 19th century

Of typical flaring cylindrical shape, with an everted rim and a later-added copper-gilt base, the exterior decorated with polychrome enamels and gold, featuring two oval portraits of high-society Qajar beaus, one of them wearing a termeh jacket and black Astrakhan fur kaj-kolah cap, alternating with two roundels with typical lovers' scenes, set against a cobalt blue ground livened with golden rosettes with interlocking vegetal sprays, the lower edge enhanced with a band of lobed cartouches of bold black nasta'liq script reading the first two lines of Sonnet 394 by Kamal Khojandi, the text set against scrolling vines on a white ground and interspersed with blue flowerheads, the interior made of plain brass, 6.5cm high.