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*A SET OF PORCELAIN BOWLS AND DISHES WITH 'FAMILLE ROSE' DECORATION FROM THE? SERVICE MADE FOR MAS'UD MIRZA ZILL AL-SULTAN PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTION China and Persia, two bowls?dated 1297 AH (1879-80) and one dated 1301 AH (1883-4) Comprising three porcelain bowls and matching dishes, each of varying size, two smaller and one larger, each one with typical Guangdong famille rose?decoration and composition, the interior of the bowls embellished with bright polychrome colours and lobed medallions filled with Chinese interior scenes with figures interspersed with floral bouquets with birds, butterflies and fruits against a gold ground, the rim fully gilt, the exterior of the bowls and the interior of the matching dishes with the same composition with the addition of golden roundels filled with golden ownership inscriptions, the exterior of the dishes plain, base unmarked, the largest bowl 17.6cm diam. and 8cm high; the largest dish 22.3cm diam. and 4.5cm high; the two smaller bowls approximately 11cm diam. and 5.5cm high; and the two smaller dishes 16cm diam. and 3cm high. Inscription: ?????? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ?????????????/????? Commissioned by His Excellency, the auspicious, the most glorious, the most high, the most noble, the eminent Sultan Mas'ud Mirza Yamin al-Dawlah Zill al-Sultan, 1297 AH or 1301 AH The golden inscriptions on this set of vessels identify them as part of a much larger service commissioned by Prince Mas'ud Mirza Yamin al-Dawlah Zill al-Sultan (1850?–?1918), the eldest son of Nasr al-Din Shah (1831?–?1896). Although he was the son of the ruling Shah, his mother was a commoner. This link cost him the much longed-for crown as it excluded him from being the next in line to the Qajar throne, a role inherited by his younger brother Muzaffar al-Din.?Instead, Mas'ud Mirza was appointed governor of Isfahan in 1866, where he ruled almost uninterruptedly for 33 years (Heidi Walcher, In the Shadow of the King: Zill al-Sultan and Isfahan under the Qajars, London, 2008, p. 35). In 1870, Nasr al-Din granted him the title of Zill al-Sultan (the Shadow of the King). From then on, Mas'ud Mirza turned Isfahan, the largest economic and trading centre in Iran at the time, into his own quasi-royal dominion. Just a year before appointing Mas'ud Mirza Isfahan’s governor, the Shah commissioned a large famille rose service in Guangdong, China. As well as classic Chinese interior scenes and floral medallions, the service also featured roundels with portraits of the Shah and his two sons, as well as epigraphic roundels – all elements clearly indicating royal attribution (Daniel Nadler, China to Order?–?Focusing on the 19th century and surveying polychrome export porcelain produced during the Qing Dynasty (1644?–?1908), France, 2001, p. 167). Mas'ud Mirza would certainly have seen his father’s service, which suggests that his own commission of the Chinese porcelain set presented here is no mere coincidence or fashion statement. Instead, it seems indicative of his longing for royal recognition. Literally in the shadow of the Shah, as his title states, in 1879 Mas'ud Mirza commissioned his own vessels from the same kiln that had produced his father’s 1865 service, adding unique features which make them clearly attributable to him. Indeed, each vessel is marked with a gold roundel with a golden epigraphic inscription clearly mentioning his name, Mas'ud Mirza, and title, Zill al-Sultan; and his choice of background colour, a tinge of grey–mauve, is very much characteristic of this production and hadn't been seen in Iran before his time (D. Nadler, p. 171). Several porcelain sets and vessels from his service have appeared and successfully sold in the London auction market (Sotheby's London, 22 April 2015, lot 194; 25 October 2017, 221; 25 April 2018, lot 199 and Bonham's London, 8 October 2009,Notes: Islamic & Indian Art