"Portrait of the Russian Ambassador, Prince Andrey Priklonskiy", Folio from the Davis Album

Painting by 'Ali Quli Jabbadar Iranian

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 462

This portrait from the Davis Album is one of several similar works depicting the same subject. From the velvet vest and furred collar and cap, the sitter can be identified as a Russian dignitary. In 1673, as the silk trade was growing between Iran and Russia, Czar Aleksey Mikhailovich sent Prince Andrey Priklonskiy as his ambassador to the court of Shah Sulaiman of Iran. Elements of the Indo-Persian style are evident in the gilt border of flowering grape vines, while the naturalistic rendering of brightly colored plants in the outer border reflects the European impact on Safavid painting in the latter half of the seventeenth century. A later copy of this portrait, falsely ascribed to 'Ali Quli Jabbadar and dated 1716, reveals the lasting impact of this embassy and its recording by a leading artist at the court of Shah Sulaiman.

"Portrait of the Russian Ambassador, Prince Andrey Priklonskiy", Folio from the Davis Album, Painting by 'Ali Quli Jabbadar (Iranian, active second half 17th century), Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

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