Royal Banquet with Nasir Al-Din Shah's Brother, Abbas Mirza

Object Details

Local Numbers: FSA A.4 2.12.GN.24.07
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 24."

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

Bibliography: Mahdi Bamdad: Sharh-i Hal-i Rijal-i Iran dar Qarn-i 12,13,14 Hijri, Tehran: Intisharat-i Zavvar (Zavvar Publishing): 1992, Vol.2, p:223

Scope and Contents: "The figures are identified as such: From right to left: Mirza Tahir Mostawfi Basir al-Molk, Ahmad Mirza Azad al-Dawla, Muhammad Taqi Mirza Rukn al-Dawla, Abbas Mirza Mulk-are, Abd al-Samad Mirza 'Ez al-Dawla, and Shahzada (prince) Amid al-Dawla. Nasir Al-Din Shah's brother, Abbas Mirza, was a contender to the throne of Muhammad Shah and after the crowning of Nasir Al-Din Shah he departed Iran to Baghdad and lived there for twenty-five years. He was born in 1839, left Iran in 1853 and returned to Iran in 1878. He died one year after the death of Nasir Al-Din Shah in 1897. The photo must have been taken a few years after his return to Iran." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]; - Handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1121."; - Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 24.7: Men seated at meal in palace." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]