Tehran (Iran): Kakh-i Gulistan (Gulistan Palace), Front Courtyard of the Palace: Possibly Part of Nowruz Festivities

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Object Details

sova.fsa.a.04_ref10086

GUID

Local Numbers: FSA A.4 2.12.GN.15.02
General: Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.

Creator: Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933
Names: Islamic Archives; Kākh-i Gulistān (Tehran, Iran); Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933; Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970
Collection Creator: Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970

Place: Asia; Iran; Tehran (Iran)

Topic: Clothing and dress; headgear; Palaces; Qajar dynasty, -- Iran, -- 1794-1925; Rites and ceremonies; Royalty (Nobility)

Creator: Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933

See more items in: Myron Bement Smith Collection; Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.12: Antoin Sevruguin Photographs / 2.12.01: Glass Plate Negatives / Glass Plate Negatives: Sets 1-61

Biographical / Historical: Antoin Sevruguin is one of the early pioneers of commercial photography in Iran. He arrived in Iran from Tbilisi, Georgia in the mid 1870s to set up shop in Ala al-Dawla street in Tehran. From the early days, Sevruguin's studio was trusted both by the Qajar court and by foreign visitors to Iran. Highly regarded for their artistic ingenuity outside Iran, Sevruguin's photographs of 'ethnic types,' architecture and landscape, and depictions of daily life of Tehran found their way into foreign travelogues, magazines and books. As such, he stands alone in a relatively large group of early Iranian photographers for being recognized and celebrated outside the boundaries of the country. Antoin Sevruguin passed away in 1933, leaving behind only a fraction of his large collection of glass negatives, which is currently in the Archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Extent: 1 Glass negative (b&w, 17.8 cm. x 12.9 cm.)

Date: 1880-1889

Archival Repository: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

Identifier: FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.4 2.12.GN.15.02

Type: Archival materials; Glass negatives

Collection Citation: The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.

Arrangement: According to Myron B. Smith handwritten document (Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran), Antoin Sevruguin's 696 glass negatives, at the time of their acquisition, were arranged into 61 boxes without any apparent organization. Today they are housed in archival document boxes, essentially duplicating the original arrangement, and stored on shelves. This glass negative was included into "Box 15."

Collection Rights: Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Bibliography: http://www.niavaranmu.com/Menu1/Description.aspx?id=325; Ghasem Safi, Historical Photographs of Iran: Dignitaries, Spectacles, Architecture and Social Environment, Tehran: Mu'assisa-i Intisharat va Chap-i Danishgah-i Tehran, 1989, p:220

Genre/Form: Glass negatives

Scope and Contents: "During the reigns of the first four kings of Qajar dynasty, what is now known as the Salam ceremony had gradually gained a special ceremonial function and was conducted with considerable care and through strict observance of specific rituals. During the ceremony the courtiers, military officials, European officials accompanied, in some cases and in the earlier days of Fath Ali Shah's reign, by the general population would attend the ceremony and paid their respects - or in this case their Nowruz greetings- to the residing Qajar King. The placement of everything from the king's hooka and small seating place on the throne to the arrangement of the different official and military groups in the garden were predetermined and following the traditions set in the earlier days of Qajar dynasty. The photo depicts a close up of part of the Salam ceremony in which the court and military officials would approach the throne's balcony and pay their respects to the king. The two figures at the back of the image and in front of the tree are Kamran Mirza - Nasir al-Din Shah's son- and Aziz al-Sultan. The figure in the foregournd - identified as Nizam al-Mulk (b.1830-d.1889) - blocks the view to the event in the background of the image which has captured the attention of Kamran Mirza and a few other attendants on either sides of the scene. The photo is most probably taken during the Salam ceremony, as part of the Nowruz festivities in the palace." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]; - FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo condition reads, "The glass negative is chipped off on the right and the bottom sides."; - Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 15.2: Military review." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]