This 'firman' or royal letter is written in 'nasta'liq' style, a script favoured for formal documents in the Persian Qajar court. The top of the document bears the seal stamp of the Qajar ruler, Nasir al-Din Shah, as well as the royal insignia of a lion and sun. This 'firman' was written to accompany the gift of a portrait of Nasir al-Din Shah to the British diplomat and scholar Sir Henry Rawlinson (1810-1895 CE) described herein as a 'friend of Iran'.
