Female Figure

Female Figure
Northern Iran, circa 1350-800 B.C.
Sculpture
Reddish-brown burnished ware
Height: 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm); Length: 4 1/8 in. (10.6 cm)
Gift of Nasli M. Heeramaneck (M.76.174.182)

Two Ladies and a Child Reposing in the Harem

Armenian and Georgian by birth, Antoin Sevruguin (died 1933) spent most of his adult life as a resident of Iran. This photograph attributed to him offers a look into the harem of the Qajar ruler Nasir al-Din Shah (ruled 1848–1896). If the photograph is indeed Sevruguin's, it would indicate an unprecedented level of access to the private quarters of the ruler's court. Such openness speaks to the great enthusiasm for photography at the time, especially from the king himself.

Antoin Sevruguin

Some of Sevruguin's portraiture fed preexisting stereotypes of Easterners but nevertheless had a commercial value and today prove to be historical records of regional dress. Photographic studios in the nineteenth century advertised a type of picture known in French as "types". These were portraits of typical ethnic groups and their occupation. They informed the European viewer, unfamiliar with Persian culture, about the looks of regional dress, handcraf

Nader Jahanbani

Jahanbani was born into a family with a long military history. His father, Amanullah Jahanbani, was a lieutenant general, who served in the Persian Cossack Brigade with Reza Shah Pahlavi. He was a Qajar prince, great grandson of Fath Ali Shah. Nader's mother, Helen Kasminsky, was from the Russian aristocracy in Petrograd.

Taq Kasra

Taq Kasra (‎‎called Eyvān-e Kasra meaning Iwan of Khosrau), is a Sassanid-era Persian monument located near the modern town of Salman Pak, Iraq. It is the only visible remaining structure of the ancient city of Ctesiphon. The archway is the largest single-span vault of unreinforced brickwork in the world. The Taq Kasra is now all that remains above ground of a city that was, for seven centuries—from the 2nd century BC to the 7th century AD—the main capital of the Iranian successor dynasties of the Parthians and Sassanids.

Shirazian Women

The first signs of the unveiling can be addressed without scavenger T'Ayn and also in the court of Shah Qajar and the intellectual circles. The Iranian women's rights activists in the constitutional era and the beginning of the reign of Reza Shah opened the debate on criticism of the veil. Recognition and mandatory multi-year, but it goes back to the reign of Reza Shah.

Tazieh and Parde-khani

In Persian tradition, Tazieh and Parde-khani, inspired by historical and religious events, symbolize epic spirit and resistance. The common themes are heroic tales of love and sacrifice and of resistance against the evil. While in the west the two major genres of drama have been comedy and tragedy, in Persia, Tazieh seems to be the dominant genre. Considered as Persian opera, Tazieh resembles European opera in many respects.