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Images of Authority: Portraits Between Iran and Europe

01 March 2025 to 15 March 2026

Ashmolean Museum

35 Beaumont Street
Oxford,OxfordshireOX1 2PH+ Google Map
01865 278000
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Images of Authority: Portraits Between Iran and Europe
Images of Authority: Portraits Between Iran and Europe

About Images of Authority: Portraits Between Iran and Europe

This free exhibition examines the power of portraits in shaping the image of three contemporaneous rulers: Fath Ali Shah Qajar (1797–1834), King George III (1760–1820), and Napoleon Bonaparte (1799–1814), offering a fascinating reflection on the role of imagery in both personal and political life.

Juxtaposing works on different media from Iran, Britain, and France, the display reveals the strategies these leaders and their image-makers used to convey authority, ambition, and personality.

For the first time in over a century, the exhibition also presents two recently restored Qajar paintings, alongside insights from their conservation discoveries.

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Free

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Free

Location:

Gallery 29

Selected artworks on display

Seated Portrait of Fath Ali Shah of Iran retouched & conserved, about 1798, oil on canvas © Ashmolean Museum
Seated Portrait of Fath Ali Shah of Iran retouched & conserved, about 1798, oil on canvas © Ashmolean Museum
Portrait of a setar player, 1797–1798. Detail from the retouched and conserved portrait of a setar player, signed Mirza Muhammad, oil on canvas © Ashmolean Museum
Portrait of a setar player, 1797–1798. Detail from the retouched and conserved portrait of a setar player, signed Mirza Muhammad, oil on canvas © Ashmolean Museum
Portrait of King George III, after 1800Engraving by Anthony Cardon, after William Beechey © Ashmolean Museum
Portrait of King George III, after 1800. Engraving by Anthony Cardon, after William Beechey © Ashmolean Museum
Miniature Portrait of Napoleon I, 19th century. Watercolour on ivory miniature by Jean-Baptiste Isabey © Ashmolean Museum
Miniature Portrait of Napoleon I, 19th century. Watercolour on ivory miniature by Jean-Baptiste Isabey © Ashmolean Museum
Caricature of George III as Cheyt Singh, about 1786. Hand-coloured engraving © Ashmolean Museum
Caricature of George III as Cheyt Singh, about 1786. Hand-coloured engraving © Ashmolean Museum
Mirror case depicting Fath 'Ali Shah'. Carved ivory mirror case from Iran by Muhammad Ali © Ashmolean Museum
Mirror case depicting Fath ‘Ali Shah’. Carved ivory mirror case from Iran by Muhammad Ali © Ashmolean Museum

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