Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan (b.1776), Ambassador for the Shah of Persia

Beechey's portrait of Mirza Abu'l Hassan Khan, Persian Ambassador to London in 1809–10, documents one of the more unusual diplomatic encounters of the Regency period. Mirza Abu'l Hassan arrived in London to negotiate a defensive alliance between Persia and Britain against the Napoleonic threat, was received at court, and became a notable figure in London society. Beechey's commission to portray the Ambassador was an official or semi-official act, documenting the encounter between Britain and Qajar Persia at a moment of geopolitical significance.

The Ambassador's elaborate Persian court dress — jewelled aigrette, rich fabrics, and regalia — required Beechey to handle gold, jewel tones, and exotic textile patterns within his English portrait formula.