A drawing of the Sassanian king Shapur II, holding a sceptre and standing in a niche; inscribed by the artist 'Sapore re persiano'.

This drawing is one of a set of nine depicting emperors and ancient kings from history by Farinati held in the Royal Collection: others show the Emperors Vitellius, Julius Caesar and Vespasian, Alexander the Great (three drawings), Attila the Hun, and King David (RCINs 904994–905002). Shown standing in niches or on plinths, or seated on architectural elements, the drawings were most probably intended as painted decorative cycles for libraries, rooms which were traditionally furnished with portraits of significant rulers. The white chalk squaring on the sheet, a method of preparing a drawing for transfer, suggests the design was executed, but no connected work has been identified.

Similar studies are elsewhere: Emperor Antoninus Pius in the Ashmolean, Oxford (Parker, 1956, cat no.222); of Mithridates, King of Pontus, in the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh (inv. no.: D 1598); of the Emperor Nero in Christ Church, Oxford (Byam Shaw, 1976, cat. no. 787) and the Emperor Vitellius, in the National Gallery of Art, Washington (inv. no.: 1975.71.3).

The Royal Collection holds forty-seven sheets by Farinati and his followers. It is probable that most, if not all, were acquired during the reign of Charles II. A list of albums at Kensington Palace in 1727 includes one volume of drawings by Farinati and his followers, in which this sheet was housed.The album contained RCINs 904973–905026, with other sheets by Farinati housed in a miscellaneous album. These volumes were subsequently broken up and the drawings were mounted separately.