Although unsigned, the beautiful and delicately drawn figures, with mesmerising gazes, rosy cheeks and pouty lips depicted on our casket are closely reminiscent of the work of the master lacquer artist Najaf ‘Ali. He was most active during the mid-19th century. Najaf 'Ali is recorded as being particularly fond of painting images of European women and Christian religious scenes.
This interior scene is almost identical to a papier-mâché mirror case we sold in these Rooms, 12 October 2004, lot 95, and another signed example sold at Sotheby’s 25 April 2018, lot 104. Our casket is extremely similar to a box in the Khalili collection (Khalili, Robinson and Stanley, Lacquer of the Islamic Lands, The Nasser D. Khalili of Islamic Art, Part One, London and New York, 1997, no. 230, p.34) ascribed to the master craftsman Najaf ‘Ali. The lid of which bears an Adoration of the Magi scene is so close in detail to the present example that the artists were either inspired by the same European engraving, or both boxes were executed in the same workshop.
Najaf 'Ali's works are dated between AH 1227⁄1812-13 AD and AH 1277⁄1860-61 AD (Khalili et.al., op.cit., pp.22, 31, 36 and 39 and Tabrizi, 1991, pp.1368-81).