Sotheby’s sale of the celebrated collection of Islamic and Indian Art assembled by the late scholar and collector Stuart Cary Welch (1928-2008) will take place in two parts, with Part One, Arts of the Islamic World, taking place on 6 April, and Part Two, Arts of India, taking place on 31 May. Assembled over a period of half a century, this remarkable collection reflects the passion and taste of a true scholar-connoisseur, and includes a fascinating range of paintings, calligraphy and works of art from the Islamic and Indian traditions.

Among a host of highly important and rare items to be offered in Part One is an illustrated leaf from one of the most famous illustrated Persian manuscripts ever produced, the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp, depicting Faridun in the Guise of a Dragon Tests His Sons (lot 78). This magnificent royal manuscript is acknowledged as one of the supreme illustrated manuscripts of any period or culture.