Tehran (Iran): Imarat-i Atabak (Atabak's Palace): View to the Inner Court

Object Details

Local Numbers: FSA A.4 2.12.GN.18.03
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 18."

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

Bibliography: Yahya Zoka and Mohammad Hassan Semsar, Tehran Dar Tasvir, Tehran: Sazman-i Miras-i Farhangi-i Kishvar, 1997, Vol.2, p:325-337

Scope and Contents: "The park and palace of Atabak was built between 1886 and 1888 on the orders of Mirza Ali Asghar Khan, The second Amin al-Sultan and the chief minister of Nasir al-Din Shah. After Amin al-Sultan's assassination in 1907, the complex, which was a debt collateral with Russian Bank for discounted loans to Amin al-Sultan, was repossessed by the bank and used as the Russian Embassy. The building was destroyed in fire in 1922. Originally only a one storey building, Imarat-i Atabak was renovated around 1900 (based on the earliest published account) to add a second storey to the building. The photo must have been taken after this addition." [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 negative seems to have been broken in almost half."; - Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 18.3: Palace (?)." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]