Russian School

This portrait depicts Tsar Georgy XI of Kartli, the third son of the Tsar Vakhtang V, the founder of the Mukhtan branch of the famous Bagrationi dynasty.
After his father’s death in 1676, Georgy ascended to the throne, but was deposed in 1688 by the Shah of Persia, the sovereign over Kartli. In 1703 Georgy XI was reinstated by next Persian Shah and was sent with the Persian army under his command to suppress the Afghan rebellion. The present paining shows the 62-year old Tsar in 1709 , the year in which he was brutally murdered at his headquarters in Afghanistan.
Portraits of Georgian kings are extremely rare and indeed this portrait is believed to be the only known image of Tsar Georgy XI.

We are grateful to Professor Vatejshvili from the Center of Georgian Culture in Moscow for assisting in cataloguing this lot.