Portret van Abd al-Aziz, broer van Bahlul-Khan, die vizier van Sultan Abul Hasan is c. 1686

This painting portrays Abd al-Aziz, brother of a vizier, with delicate watercolors. The turban he wears signals status, a motif echoing through centuries and cultures, from the turbans of Persian royalty to Ottoman sultans. Abd al-Aziz holds a delicate flower or perhaps a perfume holder. This gesture—the presentation of an object—is loaded with meaning. We see it echoed in Renaissance portraits, where rulers hold orbs symbolizing dominion, or saints offer attributes of their martyrdom. This symbolic offering engages our collective memory, tapping into the human desire to present oneself. The flower, a transient beauty, can also be seen as a symbol of life's ephemeral nature, and perhaps a reminder of mortality. This concept recurs across epochs, reminding us of our shared human condition and the cyclical nature of existence.