Three albums containing previously unseen photographs of events surrounding Iran’s Constitutional Revolution (1905-1911) will be offered in Roseberys' Antiquities, Islamic & Indian Art auction on Friday 31 October with an estimate of £10,000-£15,000. The albums have remained in private hands since the early 20th century and have never appeared before on the open market.


Lot 180: Three very rare albums of Qajar photographs, depicting events surrounding Iran's Constitutional Revolution
Estimate: £10,000 - £15,000

The collection comprises 76 photographs, including documentary images of Russian military regiments and exercises, topographical views of Persia, studio portraits of Qajar officials and works by leading court photographers Antoin Sevruguin (c.1851-1933) and Abdullah Mirza Qajar (1850-1909). The albums also feature British diplomats, Bakhtiari revolutionaries, and other nomadic groups involved in historical events in the early twentieth century.

"This collection of photographs offers an unparalleled visual record of one of the defining political upheavals of the modern Middle East," said Alice Bailey, Director and Head of Islamic & Indian Art at Roseberys. "Some of these images represent the earliest examples of journalistic photography in Iran. Given the photographers’ close access to military events and Russian troops, they may have been produced as diplomatic gifts or presented to foreign dignitaries, though their precise origins remain unknown. These albums are an invaluable document of 20th-century Middle Eastern history, illuminating the complex web of relations between Iran, Britain, and Russia."

The Constitutional Revolution emerged in response to widespread dissatisfaction with the Qajar monarchy, which had accrued significant debts to Russia and Britain to fund the Shah’s extravagant lifestyle. An emergent mercantile bourgeoisie and an increasingly politicised urban population began to view monarchic despotism as a barrier to economic and social development. The revolution was driven by merchants, religious leaders, and reformist intellectuals demanding limits on the Shah’s power, the establishment of a majlis (parliament), and a constitution modeled on European precedents.

At the turn of the 20th century, Iran was caught between the competing interests of two imperial powers; Tsarist Russia and Great Britain. Russia sought to maintain the Qajar monarchy as a buffer against British influence in the region, while Britain aimed to protect its commercial and strategic interests in southern Persia and along trade routes to India. This rivalry intensified Iran’s political instability and shaped the environment in which the Constitutional Revolution unfolded.

The uprising itself was inspired in part by Russia’s 1905 revolution, which saw workers and peasants challenge Tsar Nicholas II’s autocracy. News of this upheaval, alongside Japan’s surprising victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), encouraged Iranian reformers and merchants to challenge the excesses of the Qajar monarchy and demand constitutional limits on royal power. The movement drew heavily on the resources of Tehran’s bazaar, which functioned not only as a commercial hub but also as a centre of religious and political organisation.

The albums include portraits of some of the era’s most significant figures. Antoin Sevruguin, an Armenian-Iranian photographer, documented daily life, court ceremonies and military events with remarkable clarity. Abdullah Mirza Qajar, a prince of the Qajar dynasty, is represented both behind the camera and in the images themselves, highlighting his dual role as photographer and insider to the royal court. The collection also features Russian diplomats and military figures, including Ivan Alekseevich Zinoviev, a senior diplomat and orientalist who served as Director of the Asian Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a member of the State Council. British agents, such as Sir Ardeshir Ji Reporter, who secretly worked for British intelligence, are captured in moments that illustrate the subtle but decisive foreign involvement in Iran’s internal affairs.

Through these portraits and documentary images, the albums reveal the complex interactions of local, dynastic and foreign powers during a formative period in Iranian history. They provide rare insight into the people, places and networks that shaped the Revolution, from the corridors of the Qajar palace to the streets and sanctuaries of Tehran and to the northern military encampments under Russian influence.

Lot 59: A Byzantine mold blown light green glass hexagonal pitcher, 6th-7th century AD
Estimate: £3,000 - £5,000

Among the further highlights is a Byzantine mould-blown light green glass hexagonal pitcher, dating to the 6th-7th century AD and estimated at £3,000-£4,000. It displays distinct Christian symbols, including crosses set above stepped bases and foliate designs. Produced in the vicinity of Jerusalem, these pitchers are closely associated with early Christian ritual and domestic use. This example, acquired from Sasson Ancient Art in 2002, belongs to a rare group of mould-blown glass vessels extensively studied in M.S. Newby’s Byzantine Mould-Blown Glass from the Holy Land with Jewish and Christian Symbols (2008).

Lot 234: A cast brass model of a mounted soldier : a musket man on his camel, Vizagapatam
Estimate: £3,000 - £5,000

The Indian section is distinguished by a large Vizagapatam brass model of a musket man on camelback, dating to the late 18th century. Miniature brass figures from Vizagapatam are well documented, but examples on this scale and with such detail are exceptionally rare. The figure captures the distinctive costume and weaponry of a period when the Deccan and southern India were theatres of intense military activity.