The first European portraits of Persians
The earliest known portraits of Iranians by Westerners reached record prices in the October 2010 Christies sales: £157,250 for a 1604 drawing of “Mehdi Quli Bey”; and £229,250 for a 1604 drawing of “Sinal Shah Kamlu”, with his even more extravagant mustachios (against estimates of £35-50,000). Click on the links to see what you might …