Headdress ornament

A headdress ornament with the portrait of Fath Ali Shah (1797-1834) in painted enamel. It is shaped as a half-shaped moon combined by the rising sun that was the emblem of the Persian order of honour founded by the Shah in 1807. The bejewelled imperial crown refers to later oil paintings of him, since in the early years of his reign he is usually portrayed in the traditional royal turban topped by an aigrette. From Iran, 19th c. H 6 cm. Gift of Argini Salvagou (ΓΕ 21729)