Two binding covers depicting the Kingdom of Solomon

Two binding covers depicting the Kingdom of Solomon

Iran Qajar, 19th century

Lacquered papier-mâché, painted in polychrome with gold highlights, inner margins in grisaille. Mounted on cardboard. Framed under glass. 27 x 20 cm The upper plate shows King Solomon, haloed by flames, and the Queen of Sheba, known in the Muslim East as Belquis, seated on a hexagonal throne, conversing with the vizier Asaf bin Barakhya, in the presence of djins, angels and other creatures under King Solomon's control. On the lower plate, Bilquis seated on the throne revels in the presence of court ladies and peris. This theme of the Kingdom of Solomon fired the imagination of Persian painters the imagination of Persian painters, to render these illustrations vivid and supernatural. The subtle paintings on this binding are directly inspired by existing Safavid-era miniatures, in this case the one formerly in the Vever collection, held at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington (inv. S 1986.168) and a frontispiece from the Shahnama in Shiraz. Provenance : Jean-Charles Tauzin Collection (1889-1957) Two binding panels depicting the Kingdom of Solomon, Iran, Qâjar, 19th century