Miniature pasted on cardboard. “Karim Khan Zand with the Ottoman Ambassador Vehbi Effendi”. Attributed to Abu’l Hasan Mustawfi
<p>Iran; 1775
</p><p>Leaf: 23.8 × 17.5 cm
The founder of the Zand dynasty, Karim Khan (1751-1779), is portrayed as a powerful ruler, while the Ottoman ambassador who visited Shiraz in 1775 is suitably obsequious. The bearded ruler, who never adopted the title of king, is seated with a bouquet of flowers and his cup of wine, wearing a fur-trimmed caftan of Persian brocade and the kind of hat that was used under both the Afsharids and the Zand dynasty.
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The painting was later attributed correctly to Abu’l Hasan Mustawfi, an artist who had also served for many years as a provincial governor and was moreover a respected historian. The dating 1161 H (1749-1750), however, is incorrect. Abu’l Hasan’s first known painting was actually from 1775, the year of the ambassador’s visit.
<bdi><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5942796" class="extiw" title="d:Q5942796"><span title="Iranian historian, painter">Abolhassan Mostofi Ghaffari</span></a>
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