Object Details
- Local Numbers
- FSA A.4 2.12.GN.03.06
- General
- Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
- Creator
- Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933
- Names
- Islamic Archives
- Nāsir al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1831-1896
- 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
- Palaces
- 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, 17.7 cm. x 13 cm.)
- Date
- 1880-1930
- Archival Repository
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
- Identifier
- FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.4 2.12.GN.03.06
- 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 3."
- Collection Rights
- Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
- Genre/Form
- Glass negatives
- Scope and Contents
- "Kakh-i Sahib-Qaraniyya (Sahib-Qaraniyya palace complex) was built on the orders of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and by Yahya Khan-i Mushir al-Dawla in 1879. The complex was located in the village of Niavaran, which is in the northeast side of the current city of Tehran. The 1879 construction of the palace added to and expanded the small palace complex which was built on the site during Fath Ali Shah's reign and maintained during Mohammad Shah's time after his father. Nasir al-Din Shah expanded the original plan to build one of the most elaborate summer residences of both Qajar and Pahlavi kings in the next 70 years. The palace has since gone through multiple and extensive rounds of renovations and expansions. In this photo, Nasir Al-Din Shah can be seen at the far end of the image behind a desk with his attendants looking at the camera. The photo is taken inside the Sahib-Qaraniyya palace's main room, Talar-i Ayina (Hall of mirrors). The dark figure of the photographer and his camera on its tripod is reflected in the mirror behind Nasir Al-Din Shah. The composition cleverly positions the photographer within the image and the Shah's courtiers, while demanding the direct and exclusive engagement of the Shah with the camera and the absent viewer of the image." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- - Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 3.6: Nazmieh - Scene in home." [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-1585218933221-1585218933842-3
