2-991-377 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Early Portrait of Nasr al-Din Shah (reigned 1848-1896), c1850. The shah is shown here at perhaps just nineteen or twenty years of age, wearing jeweled portraits of the Shi‘ite Imams, probably Ali and Hasan, along with royal insignia. The archlike illuminated frame references the past, while the realistic depiction reflects more recent Western influences, including the advent of portrait photography. Two ornate medallions on either side of the shah’s head preserves the date and the royal sitter’s name.