A drawing by Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (reg. 1848-96) depicting his favourite page boy, 'Aziz al-Sultan, known as Malijak, Qajar Persia, dated June 1892

A drawing by Nasr al-Din Shah Qajar (reg. 1848-96) depicting his favourite page boy, 'Aziz al-Sultan, known as Malijak
Pencil on paper, inscribed, probably in the Shah's hand, lower left; accompanied by a photograph of Malijak in full-dress uniform in later life
207 x 182 mm.; 270 x 215 mm.(2)
The inscription reads: 'The image of 'Aziz al-Sultan was drawn in two minutes before lunch at the fountain of Kartil at Borujerd in the year [1]309/1892). He wears a white felt hat'.
In around June 1892 Nasir al-Din Shah made a trip to the west of Persia and stayed in Borujerd for two weeks camping in the woods. Among those accompanying him were the Prime Minister Amin al-Sultan and the Shah's favoured page boy 'Aziz al-Sultan, known as Malijak. (See http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/aziz-al-soltan-golam-ali-khan). For two photographs in which the Shah appears with the boy, see J. Y. Chi (ed.), The Eye of the Shah: Qajar Court Photography and the Persian Past, New York 2015, p. 16, no. 19, p. 18, no. 25, text on pp. 179-180. The second of these depicts them in the open air on a trip to the Alborz Mountains in around 1893-94.
This is a sensitively observed sketch of Malijak Aziz al-Sultan, a young page who was favoured at the court of Naser al-Din Shah (r. 1848-1896). The relationship between the ruler and his boy companion would no doubt be questionable if subject to our modern sensibilities; even the Shah's courtiers raised eyebrows at the king's fondness for the affectionately nicknamed Malijak (sparrow). Although the Shah found him an endless source of entertainment, other members of the court and even his own children were irritated by the child's raucous behaviour and bad smell. Another member of the Shah's coterie, Mirza 'Ali Khan Amin-al-dawla', upon hearing that Malijak was to be brought into the inner sanctum (andaruni) of the harem remarked that the child was "the essence of dirt and the extract of filth and putridity" (Ḵaṭerat-e siasi, ed. H. Farmafarmian, Tehran, 1341/1962, p. 87).

Naser al-Din's sketch presents Malijak in a more thoughtful repose than his reputation would suggest. The subject is sat against a slim tree resting an outlined object on a bent leg, apparently deep in thought. The composition reveals much technical skill and particular attention is paid to dimensionality, particularly in the rendering of the shoes and the slight incline of the head. The keen observation of this drawing reflects the fondness the Shah had for Malijak, as well as a rare moment of obedience on the boy's behalf having sat quietly for the sketch to be made.