Lot 31: SHEET OF DECORATED CALLIGRAPHY, SIGNED BY ISMA'IL JALAYIR, QAJAR, IRAN, CIRCA 1860-1870

35 by 53cm.

Treasures of Islam, Musée d'art et d'histoire, Geneva, 1985

Geneva 1985, no.177, p.190

This is a wonderful example of the distinctive work of the well-known Qajar artist Isma'il Jalayir. It includes every aspect of his idiosyncratic style and epitomises the imaginative world that he created in his works.

Works by Jalayir are extremely rare and sought-after. Only a handful of works by the artist are recorded in private collections, and among museums only the Sadabad Museum of Fine Arts and the Gulistan Palace Library in Tehran, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Leipzig Museum possess examples of his work. Only two of his works have appeared at auction: a portrait of Mirza 'Ali Asghar Khan in gouache on paper was sold in these rooms 18th October 2001, lot 74, and a lacquer pen-box with scenes by Jalayir was sold in these rooms 9th October 1978, lot 187, and again on 12th October 2000, lot 89.

The calligraphy on this sheet consists of invocations to God, Muhammad, 'Ali and 'Ali ibn Husayn (the fourth Imam). Jalayir has set it against a background of pastoral and hunting scenes and a prominent and very grand palace. This type of background detail appears in several of his known works and is the most distinctive aspect of his unique style. The scenes include birds, flowers, trees, two hunting scenes, the sun rising to the right of the palace, and (significantly) a depiction of Imam 'Ali seated with Hassan and Husayn framed by the terminal ya of the word 'Ali in the large line of black calligraphy. The adjacent scene to the right (sandwiched between the Ya and the 'Ali shows two seated gentlemen, one of whom appears to be an aged Sufi dervish. These two vignettes are typical of Jalayir's style, in which he often portrays specific scenes or themes almost hidden amongst the panoply of background detail. In this case the depiction of 'Ali with Hassan and Husain is an obvious visual reference to the theme of the calligraphy, being, as it is, a pious invocation to Imam 'Ali and others. He has underlined this visual link by placing the scene of the three Imams within the physical boundaries of the loop of the terminal ya of the word 'Ali. This vignette is also significant because the subject was one of his favourites and he is said to have painted at least three large-scale versions of this scene (see GIE, pp.663-5). The second relevant vignette in the present work, that of the two bearded figures to the right, one of whom appears to be a Sufi dervish, is perhaps a reference to the artist's interest in later Persian Sufi orders. He is known to have painted at least four portraits of Nur 'Ali Shah, the Ni'matullah Sufi leader (see list below and Diba and Ekhtiar 1998, pp.259-260). The internal reference to another work or works by the artist is a feature which appears in the other of his major calligraphic designs, lot 30 in this sale, where a vignette of ladies taking tea, in the upper left corner, is a visual reference to a large-scale oil on canvas painting of the same subject signed by Isma'il Jalayir and now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (P.56-1941, see Diba and Ekhtiar 1998, no.86, p.261). While the majority of minute background detail of Jalayir's painting appears to be generally decorative in theme, it is possible, in the light of these specific visual references, that there is a greater level of meaning and visual punning to be found throughout Jalayir's works.

Isma'il Jalayir was the son of Hajji Muhammad Zaman Khan Jalayir of Khurasan. He was one of the most gifted artists and teachers at the School of Arts of the Dar al-Funun in Tehran and his individualistic manner caught the eye of Nasir al-Din Shah and other senior figures in the Qajar court. By 1862-3 he had produced a portrait of the ruler and he continued his royal association throughout his career. Only fourteen other signed or confidently attributed works by Jalayir are previously recorded, as follows:
1. Portrait of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar, dated 1279/1862-3: (location unknown).
2. Ladies around a samovar: Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Diba and Ekhtiar 1998, no.86).
3. Portrait of Nur 'Ali Shah (I): private collection (Diba and Ekhtiar 1998, no.85).
4. Portrait of Nur 'Ali Shah (II): private collection (Diba and Ekhtiar 1998, fig.XXXII; Robinson 1991, pl.37).
5. Portrait of Nur 'Ali Shah (III): Sadabad Museum of Fine Arts, Tehran (Keikavusi 1992, no.19).
6. Portrait of Nur 'Ali Shah (IV): Leipzig Museum (Diba and Ekhtiar 1998, p.267, footnote no.37).
7. An album of portraits of the Seven Sufis, dated 1286/1869-70: Gulistan Palace Library, Tehran (Atabey 1353, cat.171, p.386).
8. The Sacrifice of Isma'il, formerly in the collection of P.W.Schulz (Schulz 1914, vol.I, pl.F).
9. A sheet of decorated calligraphic work with interlinear painting: see lot 30 in this sale, (see also Geneva 1985, no.178; Geneva 1988, no.34; Raby 1999., no.138).
10. A sheet of decorated calligraphy: the present item, (also Geneva 1985, no.177).
11. A qalamdan, begun probably by the artist Muhammad Hassan Afshar, completed by Isma'il Jalayir, private collection (Sotheby's, London, 12th October 2000, lot 89 and 9th October 1978, lot 187; Wiet 1935, P.87; Robinson 1989, figs.16a-c,pp.141-2; Karimzadeh Tabrizi 2000, p.370).
12. A portrait of Imam 'Ali with Hassan and Husayn, private collection (unpublished).
13. Watercolour portrait of Nur 'Ali Shah kneeling, private collection (unpublished).
14. Portrait of Prime Minister Mirza 'Ali Asghar Khan, private collection (sold in these rooms 18th October 2001, lot 74).