IMAGES OF AUTHORITY

Open 1 Mar 2025 – 15 Mar 2026

Gallery 29

Admission is FREE

As we grapple with the possibilities and excesses of our image-obsessed culture, this free exhibition looks back at the way in which a specific kind of image – portraits – dominated the lives of three contemporaneous rulers: Fath Ali Shah Qajar (1797–1834), King George III (1760–1820), and Napoleon Bonaparte (1799–1814).

Juxtaposing portraits on different media from across Iran, Britain and France, the display explores similar and unique strategies developed to convey the personal and political aspirations of these ambitious leaders and astute image-makers.

Displayed for the first time in over a century are also two recently restored Qajar paintings and some of the discoveries made during their conservation treatment.
 

Seated Portrait of Fath Ali Shah of Iran retouched & conserved, about 1798, oil on canvas © Ashmolean Museum

The Ashmolean Museum gratefully acknowledges the British Institute of Persian Studies, the Flora Foundation, the Pilgrim Trust, the Persian Heritage Foundation, the Yadiran Foundation and additional anonymous donors for supporting the study and restoration of the Qajar paintings.