This elaborately designed circular plate is a testimony to the artistic refinement the Persian Qajar period experienced. The outer circle surrounding the central scene is ornately decorated with Persianate floral motifs, painted in brilliant blue, white, green, red and yellow encapsulating the skilful composition and design paradigms of the epoch. The octogram within its core is a depiction of three ladies from the royal harem; a Saltaneh (Princess) and two attendants dressed in luxuriously patterned clothing and elegant headwear reflecting the opulence of Persian society. The women are depicted in poise, with the Saltaneh served a glass of wine symbolising divine love and pomegranates denoting fertility: metaphoric inferences that allude to significant themes in Persian poetry and literature. The inscription on the back of the plate reads ‘amaleh Husayn’ (made by Husayn), while little is known about Hussayn himself, his signature is often associated with Qajar ceramics.

The Qajar dynasty refers to the period of Persian history from its conquest by the Qajars in 1789 to its loss by the Pahlavis in 1925. The Sublime State of Iran (Dowlate Aliyye-ye Iran) was a kingdom comprising of modern-day Iran and the Caucuses: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and Dagestan. Qajar rule began with Agha Mohammad Shah who put an end to the bloody turmoil at the end of the 18th century and ended with Ahmad Shah in 1925.

The boom in artistic expression during the Qajar period is noticeable for the influence that European realism had on the late Persian empire. The marriage of the European and Persian was effectively an appreciation of canons of Western styles of portraiture that was well received within the Qajar court, often romanticising the rituals of everyday life. Undeniably, this appreciation was felt in the years proceeding, particularly in the Westernisation of the Imperial State of Iran by the Reza Shah Pahlavi.