A SET OF FOUR PORCELAIN BOWLS AND SAUCERS WITH 'FAMILLE ROSE' DECORATION MADE FOR THE QAJAR PRINCE MAS'UD MIRZA ZILL AL-SULTAN'S SERVICE
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
China and Persia, two bowls dated 1297 AH (1879-80 AD), one dated 1298 AH (1880 AD), and another dated 1301 AH (1883-4 AD)

Comprising four porcelain bowls and matching dishes, the largest two matching in size, the others slightly varying, each vessel with typical Guangdong famille rose decoration and composition, the interior of the bowls embellished with bright polychrome colours and lobed medallions filled with Chinese interior scenes with figures alternating with floral blooms, birds, butterflies and fruits compositions against a dense gold ground, the rim fully gilt, the exterior of the bowls and the interior of the matching dishes with similar compositions with the addition of calligraphic roundels filled with golden ownership inscriptions, the exterior of the dishes plain, all bases unmarked, the large bowls 37cm diam. and 15.5cm high; the large saucers 36.5cm diam. and 7cm high; the two smaller bowls between 17.5cm and 18cm diams., and 7.5cm high; lastly, the two smaller dishes between 21.5cm and 24.5cm diams., and approximately 4cm high.

Provenance: Christie's London, 25 April 1997, lot 215 (originally counting 12 parts).

Inscription: فرمایش حضرت اسعد امجد ارفع اشرف والا سلطان مسعود میرزا یمین الدوله ظل السلطان ۱۲۹۷ / ۱۲۹۸/ ۱۳۰۱

Translation: Commissioned by His Excellency, the auspicious, the most glorious, the highest, the noblest, the eminent Sultan Mas'ud Mirza Yamin al-Dawlah Zill al-Sultan, 1297 AH / 1298 AH / 1301 AH (date varies depending on the bowl)

The golden inscriptions on this set of vessels identify them as part of a much larger service commissioned by Prince Mas'ud Mirza Yamin al-Dawlah Zill al-Sultan (1850 – 1918) who was the eldest son of the Qajar ruler Nasir al-Din Shah (1831 – 1896). Despite being the first male born of the ruling Shah, his mother was a commoner, a link that excluded him from the Qajar throne and the much-desired crown. His younger brother, Muzaffar al-Din, was instead inline to be the next Shah upon their father's death.

In 1866, Mas'ud Mirza was appointed governor of Isfahan, where he ruled almost uninterrupted for 33 years (Heidi Walcher, In the Shadow of the King: Zill al-Sultan and Isfahan under the Qajars, 2008, p. 35). Four years later, Nasir al-Din granted him the title of Zill al-Sultan (the Shadow of the King). From then on, Mas'ud Mirza turned Isfahan, the largest economic and trading centre in Iran at the time, into his own quasi-royal dominion. In 1879, Mas'ud Mirza commissioned vessels from the same Chinese kiln that had produced his father’s 1865 service, adding unique features which make them clearly attributable to him. Indeed, each vessel is marked with a gold roundel with a golden epigraphic inscription clearly mentioning his name, Mas'ud Mirza, and title, Zill al-Sultan. Moreover, his choice of background colour, a tinge of grey–mauve, is characteristic of this production and hadn't been seen in Iran before his time (Daniel Nadler, China to Order – Focusing on the 19th century and surveying polychrome export porcelain produced during the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1908), 2001, p. 171). Several porcelain sets and vessels from his service have appeared and successfully sold in the London auction market starting from these very Rooms, 3 May 2019, lot 226; 25 October 2019, lot 221; and 22 April 2020, lot 197, to Sotheby's London, 25 October 2017, lot 221; 25 April 2018, lot 199; and Bonham's London, 8 October 2009, lot 157; 25 April 2017, lot 177.

All the sets offered in these Rooms between 2019 and 2022 were once part of this prestigious private collection, and have been acquired and treasured by our clients at major art auctions and renowned art galleries over the years.