AN ALBUM OF PAINTINGS AND CALLIGRAPHY

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The album was already assembled by 1230 H/May 1815 as recorded in an ownership inscription on the final folio. It bears three types of seal impressions, most of which are undecipherable. However, the date of [1]2[0?]7 can be read which may suggest that the album was assembled in the late 18th century. The ownership inscription records the name of a Persian man working for the British at the time.

The album content is described on the opening leaf, naming each calligrapher responsible for the album specimens. It counts 44 pages in the album, to which 4 were later added bringing the total to 48: 24 calligraphies and 24 paintings. The album now comprises 36 pages. It is unclear which pages are missing and when they went missing, as not all calligraphies are signed and the paintings are not given any description other than shakl (literally form/painting).

The style of illumination is very close to W668 in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, in particular some of the floral borders. The type of material included in the albums is similar, noticeably for the illustrations from the Mughal Gulistan of ca. 1610. It is probable that both albums were assembled at the same time, possibly by or for the same person. They are of nearly identical dimensions, have similar Qajar bindings and potentially share identical seal impressions.

This album comes from a French private collection and has remained in the same hands since its purchase in the second half of the 19th century. It was purportedly bought in London where the collector briefly lived after the French revolution of 1870.