Portrait of Fath Ali Shah Standing

Fath Ali Shah is shown according to the European tradition of state portraiture, standing full length. In his right hand is a sceptre topped with a figure of a hoopoe, the prophetic bird of King Solomon (Suleiman), as mentioned in the Koran. The rich attire includes a high crown with three plumes of black crane feathers (symbol of royal worth), a pale yellow silk dress, a sabre, a belt, sleeves and a sceptre studded with pearls and emeralds. At the top right is a medallion with an inscription, Sultan Fath Ali Shah Qajar. Beneath the medallion in a rectangular cartouche is a poem telling us that Allah himself depicted this famous monarch, although the painting in fact bears the date and signature of court artist Mihr Ali, who created a series of paintings of Fath Ali Shah. Fath Ali Shah was the second monarch of the Qajar dynasty, which ruled in Teheran from 1796. During his reign (1801-1834) came the Russian-Iranian wars of 1804-13 and 1826-28, and the attack on the Russian mission in Teheran in 1829, which led to the tragic death of Russian writer and diplomat Alexander Griboyedov.