Description:

Lot 5. A ROYAL HAFEZ DIVAN WRITTEN FOR FATH ALI SHAH QAJAR
First Quarter 19th Century

Persian manuscript on polished paper, written in elegant nastaʿlīq script in black ink within gold and blue-ruled borders, with headings in red. The text is arranged in two columns, each bordered with gold palmette markers. The opening bifolium is richly illuminated with dense gilt and polychrome decoration of interlaced floral scrolls, panels of cobalt blue and ruby red, and gold leaf detailing characteristic of royal Qajar commissions.

The manuscript includes four full-page miniatures, each depicting Fath ʿAli Shah Qajar in regal settings—standing, enthroned, and in courtly scenes—executed in vibrant pigments and heightened with gold. The paintings are attributed to the artist Ahmad, in the Shiraz school manner of Muhammad ʿAli Shirazi, reflecting refined Qajar portraiture and meticulous attention to jeweled ornament and textile pattern.

Bound in a lacquer-painted binding of the highest quality, the outer covers decorated with a scene of songbirds among blooming roses and poppies on a crimson ground, framed by floral borders in gold. The interior doublures are similarly ornamented. This luxurious royal copy of the Divan of Hafez epitomizes early Qajar manuscript artistry, uniting poetic elegance, illumination, and portraiture in a single sumptuous volume.



Length x Width: 28 x 18.5cm

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November 4, 2025 1:00 PM GMT
London, United Kingdom

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