Object Details
- Local Numbers
- FSA A.04 2.12.GN.00.04
- 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
- Rites and ceremonies
- 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, 12.8 cm. x 17.8 cm.)
- Date
- 1880-1896
- Archival Repository
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
- Identifier
- FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.04 2.12.GN.00.04
- Type
- Archival materials
- Glass negatives
- Gelatin silver prints
- Photographic prints
- 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 not included into any of the original boxes.
- 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. 4, p:269 & vol. 2, p:320-323.
- Genre/Form
- Gelatin silver prints
- Photographic prints
- Scope and Contents
- "The photo is of the attendants of an official Salam ceremony in Gulistan palace. The ceremony is most probably the Nowruz Salam ceremony. 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 taken during one of the official Salam ceremonies. It is notable that in all such occasions, the guards and military personnel stand to the right side of the Shah and the left side of the photo. The figure standing in the middle of the image and against the tree (in white) is Kamran Mirza (b.1858-d.1929), Nasir Al-Din Shah's son. The one standing right beside him on his right is Mirza Abd al-Vahab Khan Nizam al-Mulk (b.1849-d.1917). From 1889 till 1893 Nizam al-Mulk was the minister of the army. The photo must have been taken in this interval. The figure standing on the right side of the foreground with a tray in hand was usually a trusted officer of the court who would carry money in his tray." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- - Handwritten number in white (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "113."
- Collection Restrictions
- Collection is open for research.
- Record ID
- ebl-1585218933221-1585218933830-2
