Lot 24: A LARGE PERSIAN TWELVE-TILE POLYCHROME CERAMIC PANEL, 20TH CENTURY

A large Persian polychrome ceramic tile panel, composed of twelve individual square tiles arranged in a four-by-three grid. The scene illustrates a festive courtly banquet or celebration in the Qajar revivalist style, drawing inspiration from earlier Safavid traditions. The central composition features two seated male figures, likely princes or high-ranking nobles, holding golden drinking vessels within an architectural pavilion. They are surrounded by a large group of attendants and courtiers. In the foreground, female musicians are depicted playing a stringed instrument and a tambourine, while dancers perform, including one figure captured in a dramatic acrobatic backbend. The scene is further populated with various long-necked flasks, bowls of fruit, and traditional pastries. The panel is executed using a polychrome underglaze technique with a palette including cobalt blue, turquoise, manganese purple, yellow, green, and iron red against a cream-coloured ground. The figures are rendered with characteristic Qajar features, such as heavy, joined eyebrows and stylised almond-shaped eyes. The architectural setting features pointed arches opening onto a blue sky.