( fl c. 1800-20). Persian enamel painter. All of his work is associated with the patronage of the Qajar monarch Fath `Ali Shah (reg 1797-1834). `Ali signed his work with the title ghulam khanazad ('slave born in the household') signifying 'artist in the royal service'. A jewelled nephrite dish (Vienna, Ksthist. Mus., Samml. Plastik & Kstgew., M3223) presented in 1819 by the Persian ambassador Abu'l-Hassan Khan to the Austrian emperor Francis I (reg 1792-1835) has a central gold plaque enamelled with a full-length portrait of Fath `Ali Shah (dated 1817-18), inspired by MIHR `ALI's life-size oil portrait (Tehran, Nigaristan Mus.). Other objects enamelled by `Ali include an oval mirror with a carved jade handle (Tehran, Bank Markazi, Crown Jewels Col.); on the back is an enamel portrait of Fath `Ali Shah seated within a floral frame, probably the finest painted enamel in the collection (see ISLAMIC ART,
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