Portrait of Ahmad Shah as a Young Boy, One of 274 Vintage Photographs

ca. 1890 or 1900-1905

The young, precocious boy pictured in this photograph by Sevruguin has been tentatively identified as Malijak Aziz al-Sultan, known historically as the passive object of Nasir al-Din Shah’s desire. It has also been suggested that he could be Ahmad Shah, the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty (r. 1909–1925). No matter what the true identity of the subject, this portrait shows Sevruguin’s skill in capturing and portraying human personalities rather than stock image types.