LONDON.- An ornate gold cup being offered in an auction of Islamic & Indian Art at Chiswick Auctions on October 26th, 2018 bears a remarkable inscription on its’ base: 'This cup was granted by His Imperial Majesty the heir to the throne (tsesarevitch) Alexander Nikolaevitch, October 1850'. The person mentioned is Alexander Nikolaevitch (or Nikolayevich) Romanov, Tsar Nicholas I's heir to the throne. He succeeded to the throne on his father's death in 1855 and was crowned Tsar Alexander II. He is remembered in Russia to this day as a great reformer and the promoter of the serfs' emancipation in 1861.

The young Alexander received a liberal education and differently from his predecessors, he was taken on a six-month tour of Russia in 1837, visiting 20 provinces in the country. His travels continued in the years to come, when he visited prominent Western European countries, Siberia, and Central Asian countries sharing borders with Russia. Particularly meaningful are the records that report Alexander travelling to Georgia, Armenia and Baku in the months of September and October 1850, just before the breakout of the Crimean war in 1853. In Georgia, he met with the Qajar prince Bahman Mirza (1810 - 1884), the grandson of Fath 'Ali Shah, vali of Azerbaijan and governor of Tabriz. He then went to Armenia, where in Yerevan he was greeted by Azis Khan, the local Qajar governor (Alexander Polovtsov, The Russian Biographical Dictionary, volume 1, Aaron - Alexander II, 1896, pp. 447-448). This cup is believed to have been commissioned during one of these trips and may have been used as a diplomatic gift. It is estimated to fetch £2,000-£3,000 at auction.

Also worthy of note in the sale is a small decorative blue enamelled and silver-gilt box commissioned to commemorate the Royal wedding of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, and Princess Fawzia, daughter of King Farouk of Egypt.

Their wedding was a highlight of the social calendar and took place at the Abedin Palace in Cairo on 16th March 1939. A subsequent ceremony took place at the Golestan Palace in Tehran on 25th April 1939. The marriage made Princess Fawzia an Iranian Princess (shahdokht).

This stunning box in blue enamel with silver-gilt bears the initials of both Mohammed and Fawzia and is one of several commissioned by the Royal family by the esteemed Egyptian jeweller Naguib Bey. Bey was appointed to create wedding gifts such as this, for all of Royals, nobles and important diplomats attending the celebration of their union.

The box has only just emerged from a private collection, where is has been treasured since the early 1980s. This is a great opportunity to purchase an amazing piece of Iranian and Egyptian heritage.

The box, which is estimated to fetch £2,000-£3,000 at auction also bears the inscription: Qasr Abedin Al Amer 24 Muharram 1358 - 'The glorious Abedin Palace 15th March 1939'.