AN INK STUDY OF LOTF ALI KHAN (1769 - 1794), THE LAST RULER OF THE ZAND DYNASTY
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION
Iran, late 18th century

Black ink and light opaque red pigment on lined paper, the bust portrait depicting a distinctive image of the young Lotf Ali Khan, the last ruler of the Zand dynasty who bravely fought against the superior troops of Aqa Mohammad Khan Qajar, the founder and first ruler of the Qajar dynasty (1794 - 1924), and died at the tender age of twenty-five, his face characterised by an oval shape, rosy cheeks deprived of any facial hair, perfectly arched eyebrows and rosebud lips, his high turban worn in the typical style and fashion of the Zand period, a faded black ownership seal on the left, the portrait set within concentric decorative borders in orange and black, 27cm x 21.4cm.