Tile, moulded glazed fritware, depicting two men and two women against a blue landscape background with flowering plants and distant architecture, Isfahan or Tehran, Iran, 1865-85

Tile, glazed fritware, moulded in relief and painted in underglaze pigments including blue, turquoise, pink, yellow and black, and depicting a scene with a man and a woman in a garden, each accompanied by an attendant. The woman holds a parasol, and two flowers. The man wears a Safavid-style turban and a Qajar style jacket with a sash and a sword, as does his retainer. The background landscape features various buildings, including three churches and a bridge, echoing the city of Isfahan. Running along the top of the tile is a continuous border of interlaced scrolls with flowers and birds.

Bought through Proctor and Co., 428 Oxford Street, London, £8.

In the later 19th century, Qajar artists began to imitate the work of the Safavid period. This anonymous tile depicts a group of people wearing late Safavid costume. In the background are the Armenian churches of Isfahan.

230-1887