Tehran (Iran): Maydan-i Sipah or Maydan-I Tupkhana, Nazmiyya Building

Object Details

Local Numbers: FSA A.4 2.12.GN.17.04
General: Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.

Creator: Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933
Names: Islamic Archives; Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933; Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970
Collection Creator: Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970

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.

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

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 17."

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

Scope and Contents: "The photo depicts the building of Nazmiyya (Police headquarters) in Maydan-I Sipah or Maydan-I Tupkhana in its background. The new structure of police headquarter was built around 1880, a few years after Antoine de Montfort - along with a delegation of 14 other austrian officers - arrived in Iran with the mission to establish the new police force in Iran. The photo however is taken at least a few decades after the above mentioend date, as a car can be seen in the background of the image passing the street. The first cars arrived in Iran after 1900 and within the next ten to fifteen years they became a relatively common sight in Tehran. The model of the car also points to the 1920s." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]; - FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo manipulation reads, "Two thin lines on the bottom and the right side of the negative. The two sides are intentionally broken."; - Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 17.4: Bldgs." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]