This French doll wears clothes reportedly made for her by a wife of Nasir al-Din Shah, the ruler of Persia from 1848 to 1896. According to the donor's family tradition, the doll was dressed in this way before being presented to Caspar Purdon Clarke as a gift for his daughter. Purdon Clarke, who later became director of the V&A, was reportedly then studying Middle Eastern art in Iran: if so, this dates the encounter to the years 1874-76. Otherwise the shah visited Europe on two later occasions, and could have encountered Purdon Clarke again at either of two International Exhibitions in Paris, in which Purdon Clarke participated: 1878 and 1889. The clothes are an interesting example of the dress worn by upper-class Iranian women in the late 19th century. They include wide-legged trousers gathered at the ankle, voluminous split skirts, and two full-skirted jackets.