How Ali Asghar Kashani came to be called "Stump Ear"

Ali Asghar Kashani a painter who was the father of the Persian Master Āqā Riżā Kāshānī i.e. Reza Abbasi. Ali Asghar was a good artist but he never received the acclaim of his son or as some of his contemporaries.

Ali Asghar, Gooy-o-Chowgun 

As we can see in this image Ali Asghar painted in a less refined almost provincial style. The rocky hill dominates the field in the style of Shiraz with the man mostly hidden behind it. This was a shortcut used by Shirazi painters to save time. Additionally the plants springing from under rocks is also do in the Shiraz style. I Shiraz the plant may blossom up or down from the rock while in Tabriz in this time period blossoms go up not down. This piece is clearly from the reign of Shah Tahmasp but the polo player is neither a prince nor a Kizilbash. If this were in the Tabriz style the riders turban would have a Red Taj possible with royal feathers and the horses bridal might also have been decorated. 

Besides fathering Aqa Riza he is perhaps best remembered for a salacious and outrageous scandal which rocked the Persian court. Shah Tahmasp availed himself with the sexual pleasure of beardless boys. His favorite boy-toy was the son of the Court Surgeon. This in itself was quite normal and not a scandal in that place and time. What really cause the problem was that Ali Asghar fell madly in love with the Shah’s Cup Bearer and attempted to run off to India with him. Being an exceptional artist forging the seal of Shah Tahmasp was no great difficulty. Off Ali Asghar the boy and another artist fled towards the Mughal Border. Even with the forged letter of Transit they were caught and returned to face the wrath of an angry Shah. Tahmasp allowed the boy’s father to choose the punishment. The sentence was loss of his nose and both ears. I have often wondered if the father a surgeon preformed the amputations personally. It came to pass that Ali Asghar’s nickname was “stump ear”.

A Smoking (Hot) Princess Muhammad Qasim circa 1635

In this 17th century Persian Miniature from the Isfahan style I was struck by the detail and intricacy of the woman's undergarments (her shalvar). It hearkens to the style of Riza-i Abassi but it lacks the gritty realism of Riza-i Abassi  and lacks his fascination with sashes and folds.

Persian Princess Smoking circa 1635 by Muhammad Qasim 1575-1659. of the Isfahan School,

This painting is attributed to Muhammad Qasim and since there is a signature I assume it is his. However it is so obviously in his style that the signature is not crucial. Take for instance the princess's breasts:

We can see the Princess's cleavage. Muhammad Qasim showed a greater fascination with female breasts than was common in Safavid painting up to that point. Take for instance Lot 119  Sale 7751 A Seated Ruler in a Landscape Signed Muhammad Qasim Isfahan Iran Circa 1640, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds London, King Street, 6 October 2009. We see a very similar woman with a bare breast. In fact it is entirely possible that it is the same woman in both pictures.

The Smoking Princess is from the Isfahan school under Riza-i Abassi but it lacks his refinement of style. Take the pipe for instance: 

Now contrast it with a pipe in Nashmi the Archer, Harvard Art Museum 1960.197 gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (Nelson Rockefeller's mother), Signed by Riza 'Abbasi, Dated: 25 February 1622.

Aqa Riza has a much better command of the minor details but Muhammad Qasim seems to portray the woman in much the same way that artists portrayed the beardless boys of the Evil Years. That is to say as an object of desire.

We can see this in how Muhammad Qasim portrays the lower extremities:

Compare the feet of Nashmi the Archer certainly a harsher view of reality.

I also have to note the drawings on the bottle by Princess Muhammadwith the face on the pipe by Aqa Riza:

Aqa Riza is counted by most experts to be the greater artist. In fact may count him as one of the greatest of all Persian painters. But so despite the admiration I have for his technical excellence I prefer Muhammad Qasim. Count that as my vote for joy.

Why do I choose call the work The Smoking Princess when no one else does? the two feathers in her headdress are a traditional sign of royalty from Mongol times up and into the Safavid Dynasty. I think that not calling her a princess is an oversight.

A Question of Provenance

A Question of Provenance
OrWhy Harry Truman called James Mark “Uncle Jimmy” Keshishian a “Son Of A Bitch”

November 16th to December 30^th 1949 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Shah of Iran visited the United States and visited President Harry S. Truman.

On that trip the Shah presented Truman with a magnificent Isfahan carpet of great size and beauty.

To get a sense of the size of this Isfahan Persian Carpet compare it to the picture below using the desk for scale. I figure this rug was no smaller then 12 by 18 and perhaps larger.

This rug was more than just a simple gift. Harry Truman loved that rug and took great joy in it. He used to talk about that rug: Truman is remembered for comments such as; “Old Mossadeghfound out that the Shah had given me the rug, and he was burned up.”

Or from the New York Sun:

‘About the only feature I remember from my earlier visit to the Truman Library was a huge Persian carpet that had been suspended from the balcony. We'd pass it more than once during our brief tour, and each time Mr. Truman would say, "Yeah, that's a rug the Shah of Iran gave me."’

In 1957 Harry Truman opened the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum as his presidential library and what was to become his final resting place. Truman loved that Library and the museum was a very important part of his life. He was usually the first person to open the door and often the last person to leave at night. He even answered the phone and shocked visitors when he would give them directions to “His Library”. Now his rug was the first thing you saw when you came in the front door. So needless to say Ole Harry loved that rug.

So in 1958 Harry Truman took it very personally when the IRS under Republican President Dwight Eisenhower audited his return and disputed the $150,000 tax deduction that Truman took on the Shah’s rug that he donated to the museum. The Internal Revenue Service knew this was a high profile and potentially explosive audit. The Republicans wanted blood and while Harry Truman was at a low point in his popularity he was still an ex-President. There was only one appraiser in the country they trusted with a job this explosive. They called Mark Keshishian of Mark Keshishian & Sons, Chevy Chase Maryland America’s senior Oriental Rug Appraiser expert.

One small problem the rug was in Independence Missouri and Mark Keshishian was scared of flying. Mark took the job but not the flight so he sent his son Jim  (James Mark “Uncle Jimmy” Keshishian) 

So off Jim flew to Independence Missouri where he carefully examined the rug. President Truman personally showed the rug to Jim and made it very clear that he as the former President and Leader of the Free World considered the rug to be worth $150,000.

The problem was as Jim told his Dad that night it was a very nice $15,000 rug and that was ten cents on the dollar of President Truman's Income Tax deduction. Mark Keshishian thought a moment and said, "Jim if I owned the rug or if you owned the rug it is a $15,000 but you aren't the Shah of Iran and I am not the President. You are forgetting PROVENANCE." With that Jim declared the rug worth $75,000. Because obviously a rug owned by a Shah and a President was worth more than that same rug would be worth with any ordinary owner.

So quite proud of his compromise Uncle Jimmy Keshishian explained to the President the next day that he was appraising the rug at $75,000. Truman was furious and looked Uncle Jimmy in the eye and called him "You Son of a Bitch". That is Truman for you.

I heard this story first hand from Uncle Jimmy Keshishian when I was helping him write the Chapter on Oriental Rug Valuation in the 3rd edition of Property Valuation Strategies in Divorce Proceedings. I could be a bit off on the exact figures since it has been a few years but I checked with Jim's son Mark Samson Keshishian a top Oriental Rug appraiser in his own right and a Senior Fellow of the Academy of Oriental Rugs and this is what we remembered.

Bill Clinton's Underwear and Donating Oriental Rugs

Bill Clinton's Underwear and Donating Oriental Rugs

Bill Clinton's Underwear

In 2006 the IRS tightened up the guidelines on the donation of household and personal property over the so-called Bill Clinton Underwear Incident:

On his 1986 return, Bill Clinton deducted $6 for three pairs ofunderwear and $75 for a suit with ripped pants given to the Salvation Army.  From Forbes.

The new guidelines are tighter but not terrible:

You can take a deduction for a contribution of an item of clothing or a household item that is not in good used condition or better if you deduct more than $500 for it and include a qualified appraisal of it with your return.  http://www.irs.gov/publications/p526/ar02.html#en_US_2014_publink1000229641

What this means is that if you are donating an Oriental Rug or Textile you can deduct whatever you can get it appraised for within reason. What is reasonable can and will be determined by the IRS so as my Dad used to say never take a deduction that you can not explain with a straight face.

I am not an Accountant and this should not be seen as nor taken as Tax Advice.