LONDON.- One of the most exceptional and comprehensive collections of Persian Qajar Orders and Decorations ever to come to public auction forms a key part of Bonhams Indian and Islamic sale on October 7 in London. The collection, compiled by a private Swiss Collector, is estimated to sell for a total of £600,000 to £800,000.

The product of nearly half a century of collecting, the present offering has been painstakingly assembled to encompass the full gamut of royal, civilian, political, military, and familial orders issued by Qajar Monarchs during their rule of Persia between 1797 to 1923.

The focal point of the present collection is a rare and illustrious group of gem-set orders and portraits depicting the great Qajar rulers themselves; opulent, ostentatious and flamboyant, the monarchs personified the grandiose, regal aesthetic that characterized Qajar Persia.

The practice of awarding jewel set decorations bearing the Imperial Effigy can be seen as part application of imperial statecraft; part projection of Qajar dynastic power; and as the personal award of the sovereign in exchange for services of the highest degree. It was awarded to the most senior courtiers of the highest distinction and occasionally to foreigners of exalted rank.

A fine example of a rare progenitor to these orders, is lot 153 in the sale, estimated to sell for £50,000-70,000. It is a magnificent, large, diamond-set enamelled gold portrait of Muhammad Shah Qajar (ruled 1834-48).

This lavishly embellished portrait of Muhammad Shah Qajar (r. 1834-48) offers an exquisite example of the skill of the Qajar enamel artist and embodies the Qajar predilection for jeweled objects. Muhammad Shah, more restrained and modest than his flamboyant predecessor, Fath’ Ali Shah, seldom appears in royal portraiture of the time, amplifying the rarity of the present example.

A second such Order is Lot 145, estimated at £20,000 to £30,000, it is a fine gem-set rose-gold Insignia of the Qajar Order of the Imperial Effigy depicting Nasr al-Din Shah Qajar. The talisman of the Qajar dynasty, Nasir Al Din Shah’s rule (1848-96), was one of the longest of any monarch in Iranian history; a pioneer of modernisation, he was the first Qajar King to write and publish his diaries, introduce photography to the court, and travel abroad; including notable visits to the United Kingdom where he became one of the first non-Christian monarchs to be awarded the Order of the Garter by Queen Victoria.

Lot 146, estimated at £20,000 to £30,000 is an exceptionally rare and fine gem-set rose-gold Insignia of the Qajar Order of the Imperial Effigy depicting Muhammad 'Ali Shah Qajar (ruled 1907-09) set with rose-cut diamonds and emeralds.

Muhammad 'Ali Shah Qajar (1872-1925) short and ill-fated rule saw the dissolution of a parliament and the nullification of the newly and declared the constitution abolished. Encouraged by promises of military and political support from Russia and Britain, he took on the Majles (Persian parliament) and lost. He was ousted in July 1908 when constitutionalist forces marched on Tehran from the provinces and re-established the constitution. During his short and turbulent two year rule, the present order is seemingly unique and no comparable has been found.

Peerless, definitive and exemplary, the present collection forms a seminal reference point not only of orders and insignia produced in Iran, but contains rare examples of Qajar orders made in Russia, France, Austria and the United Kingdom, a testament to the dynasty’s endeavours to become an established imperial power on the global stage during the Great Game.