19th C. "Minister of the Qajar" Oil on Canvas Painting

19th C. "Minister of the Qajar" Oil on Canvas Painting (Soltan Ali Khan Vazir Arkham). Measures 37" x 28 1/2". About Soltan Ali Khan Amin Baghaya Vazir AfkhamSoltan Ali Khan Vazir AfkhamSoltan Ali Khan Vazir Baghaya Vazir Afkham was the eldest son of Salar al-Molk.Soltan Ali Khan's maternal grandfather was Ebrahim Khan Zahir al-Daula, a Qajar prince who had governed the province of Kerman for decades and estblished the powerful Ebrahimi family.The entire Ebrahimi clan and their subjects adhered to the Shaykhi school of the Shi'i theology.Soltan Ali Khan's uncle (and Ebrahim Khan's eldest son), Mohammad Karim Khan (d. 1871), assumed the leadership of the Shaykhi school, a leadership which was passed down to his male descendants. ... In 1883 Soltan Ali Khan joined Crown Prince Mozaffar al-Din Mirza's retinue in Tabriz as his private secretary.From 1886-1889 Soltan Ali Khan was nominated to the prestigious post of special attendant to His Imperial Highness and chief accountant and director of taxation.With the advent of Mozaffar al-Din Shah to the throne in 1896, Soltan Ali Khan replaced Mohammad Ali Khan Amin al-Saltana as Chief Secretary of His Imperial Majesty and director of accounts and royal pensions.This position earned Soltan Ali Khan his title of Vazir Baghaya (Minister of Royal Pensions).Eventually Soltan Ali Khan's responsibilities were transferred to his eldest son, Mohamad Hassan Khan Amin Baghaya, who had already risen in the ranks as attendant to Mozaffar al-Din Shah and was assuming much of his father's responsibilities as the vice-director of the Ministry of Royal Pensions.By the year 1901 Soltan Ali Khan was given the title of Vazir Afkham, or "the most majestic of ministers," by an appreciative Mozaffar al-Din Shah who had appointed him as the Minister of the Imperial Court (Vazir i Darbar) in addition to his responsibilities as director of pensions.