Object Details
- Local Numbers
- FSA A.4 2.12.GN.24.09
- 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
- Early Photography of 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 12.8 cm.)
- Date
- 1880-1910
- Archival Repository
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
- Identifier
- FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.4 2.12.GN.24.09
- 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 24."
- Collection Rights
- Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
- 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 hookah 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 is most probably taken during Salam ceremony, however the difference in the decoration of the front balcony of the palace, when compared to another print of a similar ceremony in the archives (FSA A.4 2.12.GN.15.02) suggests that the ceremony might have been due to an official occasion other than Nowruz." [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 bottom edge is ragged. The glass is sowed off at the bottom edge."
- - Handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1131."
- - Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 24.9: Men outdoors." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]
- Collection Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Record ID
- ebl-1585218933221-1585218933895-1
