Portret van sjah Mozaffer ed-Din Kadjar before 1902

This small portrait of Shah Mozaffar ed-Din Kadjar appears in a printed book, a photograph caught in a kind of inky embrace. I wonder, who took the photograph and what was it like to stand before this man and capture his image? The photograph is contained within a delicate border and shows the Shah standing proudly with his hand on his sword. He looks stern, but is he posing or does he genuinely feel this way? I imagine the photographer trying to capture his essence. It must have been hard to get him to soften. Maybe he softened when the shoot was done. Perhaps this photograph then went to someone who embellished it with a floral border. It’s as though they wanted to honor him with a frame of flowers and vines, adding another layer of meaning to the work. Ultimately, all these gestures contribute to the story of this portrait and how it can be understood.