Portrait of Safavid Shah Sulaymān (d. 1694), by Shaykh `Abbāsī

Shaykh `Abbasi

Portrait of Safavid Shah Sulaymān (d. 1694), by Shaykh `Abbāsī. Immaculately dressed in stripes, the king sits upright, one hand resting on his jewelled dagger and the other holding up a pink rose. On this right, a small note reads “Shah Sulayman”. The first two years of his reign did not go well. The shah was crowned in late 1666, as Safi II. There then followed so many unlucky events (drought, illness, border raids and a major earthquake) that his officials decided to start again. The palace organised a second coronation, on the more auspicious date of 20 March (Persian New Year, or Norouz) in 1668. The shah’s name also changed, to Sulayman. Album folio, ink, colours and gold on paper, on pink card, portrait of Safavid shah Sulaymān (r. 1666-68 as Safi II, then 1668-94 as Sulaymān), wearing striped turban and green coat, seated holding a rose, inscribed (“Shāh Sulaymān”, on right), within ruled borders on successive frames of gold-painted pink, white and dark blue paper, all mounted on deep pink card album page with gold foliate scrollwork, blank paper verso, painting by Shaykh `Abbāsī, Isfahan, Iran, c. 1670-1685.