A Concise Tour of Epic Iran: A Retrospective
The Iran Heritage Foundation is proud to have been a co-organiser of the Epic Iran exhibition that was on show at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 29th May–12th September 2021. The response from reviewers and from the visiting public has been very gratifying, and tickets were sold out for the entire duration of the exhibition. For the benefit of those who were unable to see the exhibition, we have put together a brief description with images of selected objects. It is hoped this will also serve as a concise record of what has proved to be a landmark exhibition.
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Introduction
Since 2014 it had been ambition of the IHF Board of Trustees and the staff to organise a major exhibition about Iran covering the entire period from the beginning of history up until modern times. There had not been such a show since the Exhibition of Persian Art at the Royal Academy in 1931. But it was not possible to find a venue, and meanwhile in 2016 V&A Director Martin Roth decided to mount an exhibition of the Sarikhani Collection with John Curtis curating the ancient part. Everything changed in 2018 when Tristram Hunt who was by now the Director decided to enlarge the scope of the exhibition to include other collections. The proposal was that Curtis would curate the ancient part of the exhibition on behalf of IHF which would be a co-organiser, Tim Stanley of the V&A would curate the Islamic part, and Ina Sandman of the Sarikhani Collection would curate the contemporary part. This core group was joined by Astrid Johansen of IHF, and Sarah Piram and Alexandra Magub of the V&A. Effectively, then, in the persons of Curtis and Johansen, IHF was responsible for the ancient part of the exhibition and Trustees Alireza Rastegar and Ali Rashidian arranged with the V&A that IHF would be the co-organiser of the exhibition.
The exhibition has been assembled from various sources and contains some 302 items in all. Apart from the Sarikhani Collection and the V&A’s own collection, loans have come from a number of museums and private collections including the British Museum, the British Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, the Ashmolean Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Royal Collection, and the Farjam Collection. It had been hoped there would be a substantial loan from the National Museum of Iran, but although this was agreed in principle it was dependent on a reciprocal exhibition from the V&A and it was not feasible to send such an exhibition because of the impossibility of getting insurance cover for objects going to Iran. When the arrangement with Iran fell through, the Metropolitan Museum and the Ashmolean Museum came to the rescue with the loan of many beautiful objects. There was a further complication because of COVID-19, and late in the day the Louvre and the Hermitage decided they were not able to send all the objects that had been promised.
The exhibition covers the period from 3200 BC up to the present day. It starts in 3200 BC as this is the date of the earliest clay tablets with rudimentary writing in proto-Elamite script, and history is usually reckoned to begin with the introduction of writing.
Iran is one of the very few parts of the world where a cultural tradition can be traced back over 5,000 years. This is manifested in various ways, such as:
Why is the exhibition called Epic Iran and not Epic Persia? Iranians themselves have always called the country Iran, stating with Darius who in his Naqsh-e Rustam inscription proclaimed “I am an Iranian”. Then in the Sasanian period we have references to ‘Eranshahr’ (the land of Iran). It was the Greeks who started calling the country Persia. They knew Parsa (modern Fars) where the Achaemenid kings were based, and applied this name to the whole country. Generations of Europeans followed them, until in 1935 Reza Shah decreed that the country should be known internationally as Iran.
The exhibition has been assembled from various sources and contains some 302 items in all. Apart from the Sarikhani Collection and the V&A’s own collection, loans have come from a number of museums and private collections including the British Museum, the British Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, the Ashmolean Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Royal Collection, and the Farjam Collection. It had been hoped there would be a substantial loan from the National Museum of Iran, but although this was agreed in principle it was dependent on a reciprocal exhibition from the V&A and it was not feasible to send such an exhibition because of the impossibility of getting insurance cover for objects going to Iran. When the arrangement with Iran fell through, the Metropolitan Museum and the Ashmolean Museum came to the rescue with the loan of many beautiful objects. There was a further complication because of COVID-19, and late in the day the Louvre and the Hermitage decided they were not able to send all the objects that had been promised.
The exhibition covers the period from 3200 BC up to the present day. It starts in 3200 BC as this is the date of the earliest clay tablets with rudimentary writing in proto-Elamite script, and history is usually reckoned to begin with the introduction of writing.
Iran is one of the very few parts of the world where a cultural tradition can be traced back over 5,000 years. This is manifested in various ways, such as:
- Memories of the ancient past, mythical and historical, are preserved in the Shahnameh, or Book of Kings, the Iranian national epic familiar to every Iranian.
- The Persian language is first attested just before 500 BC, and is certainly much older than this, and although it has gone through various stages of development it is still recognisably the same language.
- Iran is home to the world’s oldest monotheistic religion, Zoroastrianism, whose origins are lost in the mists of time and is still practised today.
- The art of Iran throughout the ages shows a preoccupation with animals and brilliant colours.
- A love of fine craftsmanship can be discerned from early times until now.
Why is the exhibition called Epic Iran and not Epic Persia? Iranians themselves have always called the country Iran, stating with Darius who in his Naqsh-e Rustam inscription proclaimed “I am an Iranian”. Then in the Sasanian period we have references to ‘Eranshahr’ (the land of Iran). It was the Greeks who started calling the country Persia. They knew Parsa (modern Fars) where the Achaemenid kings were based, and applied this name to the whole country. Generations of Europeans followed them, until in 1935 Reza Shah decreed that the country should be known internationally as Iran.
The Exhibition
1. The Land of Iran
To set the scene, the exhibition starts with a wide-screen panorama with views of the Iranian landscape devoid of people and buildings.
To set the scene, the exhibition starts with a wide-screen panorama with views of the Iranian landscape devoid of people and buildings.
2. Emerging Iran
The first section of the exhibition, covering the period 3200-550 BC, is really a story of two parallel narratives, the Elamites who are thought to have been the indigenous inhabitants of the country, and peoples speaking Indo-Iranian languages, including Persian and Median, who apparently arrived on the Iranian plateau from about 1500 BC onwards. The proto-Elamite civilization, which flourished around 3200-2900 BC, is represented by the curious figure of a semi-naked man wearing boots with curled toes and a cap with ibex horns. An eagle’s body is draped around his shoulders.
The first section of the exhibition, covering the period 3200-550 BC, is really a story of two parallel narratives, the Elamites who are thought to have been the indigenous inhabitants of the country, and peoples speaking Indo-Iranian languages, including Persian and Median, who apparently arrived on the Iranian plateau from about 1500 BC onwards. The proto-Elamite civilization, which flourished around 3200-2900 BC, is represented by the curious figure of a semi-naked man wearing boots with curled toes and a cap with ibex horns. An eagle’s body is draped around his shoulders.
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Metropolitan Museum, 2007.280
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In the 3rd millennium BC there were a number of flourishing centres with sophisticated civilizations in eastern Iran at places such as Shahr-e Sokhta, Shahdad, Tappeh Yahya and Jiroft. Discoveries at these sites have mostly been made from the 1970s onwards, and if they had been known earlier when the paradigm of the birthplace of civilization was being drawn up, Iran would certainly have been regarded as being on a par with Mesopotamian and Egypt rather than being a poor relation. From cemeteries around Jiroft a large number of carved stone objects have been recovered, and vessels made from the soft grey-green stone known as chlorite have been found in various parts of the Middle East. A vase of this type showing palm trees is dated to around 2500 BC. Slightly later is a magnificent bronze axe with a pair of freestanding wrestlers on the back of the haft. This is a superb casting that attests to extraordinary technical skill at this early date.
Metropolitan Museum, 17.190.106
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Sarikhani Collection, A.MW.2051
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After 2000 BC the Elamites gradually withdrew to the south-west of the country, modern Khuzestan, where their main centres were at Susa and at Anshan (Tall-e Malyan). There is a fine collection of monumental Elamite bronze work in the Louvre, but a small bronze group in the exhibition is unique in the quality and style of the workmanship. It shows a worshipping couple, possibly a king and a queen, and dates from 1500-1100 BC. Of similar date are three terracotta figurines of naked women, probably fertility symbols, found at Susa by the Victorian archaeologist W.K.Loftus. He donated them to a museum in his home town of Newcastle.
The Sarikhani Collection, A.MW.2061
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Hancock Collection
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From around 1500 BC onwards peoples speaking Indo-Iranian languages including Persian and Median are thought to have migrated on to the Iranian plateau from Central Asia. They established centres in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains and to the south of the Caspian Sea at places such as Marlik, Hasanlu, Ziwiyeh, and in Luristan.
Directly or indirectly associated with Iranian speaking peoples are a number of sites in Western Iran, at many of which splendid works of art have been found. From cemeteries in the Marlik area to the south of the Caspian Sea come beautifully decorated gold vessels, such as a beaker, c.1200-1000 BC, with embossed and chased decoration showing different types of horned animals in five rows. The people in this area are thought to have been robber barons who made themselves wealthy by controlling the lucrative east-west trade route that ran to the south of the Caspian. Slightly later are objects excavated at Hasanlu, a site which was destroyed by a fierce fire in about 800 BC. They include a beak-spouted pottery jar and tripod in grey ware. A similar jar but with red-painted designs on a cream background is of a type associated with Tappeh Sialk on the edge of the Great Salt Desert, perhaps the most important archaeological site in Iran.
Directly or indirectly associated with Iranian speaking peoples are a number of sites in Western Iran, at many of which splendid works of art have been found. From cemeteries in the Marlik area to the south of the Caspian Sea come beautifully decorated gold vessels, such as a beaker, c.1200-1000 BC, with embossed and chased decoration showing different types of horned animals in five rows. The people in this area are thought to have been robber barons who made themselves wealthy by controlling the lucrative east-west trade route that ran to the south of the Caspian. Slightly later are objects excavated at Hasanlu, a site which was destroyed by a fierce fire in about 800 BC. They include a beak-spouted pottery jar and tripod in grey ware. A similar jar but with red-painted designs on a cream background is of a type associated with Tappeh Sialk on the edge of the Great Salt Desert, perhaps the most important archaeological site in Iran.
Sarikhani Collection, A.MW.1021
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Metropolitan Museum, 60.20.15
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British Museum, 1937,0410.1
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3. The Achaemenid Empire
The period of the Achaemenid Empire begins in 550 BC when Cyrus the Great was proclaimed king over the united Medes and Persians, and lasts until 330 BC when Alexander of Macedon sacked and burnt Persepolis.
The period of the Achaemenid Empire begins in 550 BC when Cyrus the Great was proclaimed king over the united Medes and Persians, and lasts until 330 BC when Alexander of Macedon sacked and burnt Persepolis.
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No exhibition about the Achaemenid Empire would be complete without the Cyrus Cylinder, and here it is on loan from the British Museum. It was inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform on the orders of Cyrus the Great after he captured Babylon in 539 BC and buried under a newly reconstructed wall. It is sometimes called the First Declaration of Human Rights, but it is not exactly that, rather, as Neil MacGregor has said, a charter for good governance. It was certainly necessary for Cyrus to adopt a workable form of kingship as after 539 BC he found himself master of an enormous empire stretching from the Aral Sea to the Mediterranean, the largest empire the world had seen up until that time.
At the heart of the Persian Empire was Persepolis (Takht-e Jamshid), north of Shiraz and one of the best preserved and most spectacular sites in the whole of the ancient world. The capital city of Persepolis is renowned for its carved stone panels, and there are fragments of some of these in the exhibition, including the beautifully sculpted head of a Persian guard from the Ashmolean Museum.
At the heart of the Persian Empire was Persepolis (Takht-e Jamshid), north of Shiraz and one of the best preserved and most spectacular sites in the whole of the ancient world. The capital city of Persepolis is renowned for its carved stone panels, and there are fragments of some of these in the exhibition, including the beautifully sculpted head of a Persian guard from the Ashmolean Museum.
British Museum, 1880,0617.1941
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Ashmolean Museum, AN1982.944
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Nowadays the Persepolis sculptures, both those in various collections and those still at the site, are quite plain and bland, but like most ancient stone sculptures they would once have been brightly painted. To give an idea of how they would have looked originally, colours have been projected on to a series of plaster casts on loan from the British Museum. These casts, made in 1892 by the Weld-Blundell expedition to Persepolis, are of stone relief carvings on one side of the Palace of Darius, added in the time of Artaxerxes III (359-338 BC). In the central inscription, written in Old Persian cuneiform, Artaxerxes pays tribute to the Zoroastrian god Ahuramazda, saying “a great god is Ahuramazda, who created this earth, who created yonder sky, who created man, who created happiness’ for man”. He also mentions the Zoroastrian helper god Mithra. On either side of the central inscription are group of tributaries from around the empire bringing gifts for the king. They are all wearing their traditional costume. The choice of colours is not arbitrary, but has been carefully worked out on the basis of microscopic traces of colour left on some of the original reliefs. The choice of colours here has been determined by Astrid Johansen in consultation with Professor Shahrokh Razmjou of Tehran University.
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Also showing the Iranian love of brilliant colours are copies of eight glazed brick panels from the Palace of Darius at Susa showing armed guards, perhaps members of the elite corps known as ‘the Immortals’ who guarded the king. They were purchased from the Louvre in the late 19th century when the V&A was collecting casts and replicas and have never before been on display.
The finest collection of gold and silver objects to have survived from the Achaemenid period is known as the Oxus Treasure, found on the banks of the River Oxus in present Tajikistan by local villagers in around 1877-1880. From the Treasure are a miniature gold chariot that has been assembled from a number of small pieces of gold soldered together and is a masterpiece of ancient gold working. A massive gold armlet from the Treasure, with winged griffin terminals, is of the type seen being brought as gifts on the reliefs. It has cavities for the inlay of semi-precious stones, a favourite technique of Achaemenid jewellers. It is also seen in a gold earring from the Metropolitan which has in the centre is a figure in a winged disc, possibly Ahuramazda or perhaps the kingly glory, surrounded by worshipping figures in crescent moons.
British Museum, 1897,1231.7
Metropolitan Museum, 1989.281.33
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Victoria and Albert Museum, 442-1884
Metropolitan Museum, 54.3.3
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Amongst other splendid gold objects on display is a gold rhyton (drinking-cup) ending in the foreparts of a lion that is decorated with 136’ of twisted wire. When the Greeks entered the Persian camp after the battle of Plataea they were astonished by the number of gold vessels they found there.
4. Last of the Ancient Empires
After a brief Hellenistic interlude, the country was controlled by two Iranian dynasties, the Parthians and the Sasanians, for nearly 1,000 years. During this period there were many clashes first with the Roman Empire and then with its successor the Byzantine Empire. In the Sasanian period Zoroastrianism became the state religion, and much of the iconography in Sasanian art is Zoroastrian in inspiration.
After a brief Hellenistic interlude, the country was controlled by two Iranian dynasties, the Parthians and the Sasanians, for nearly 1,000 years. During this period there were many clashes first with the Roman Empire and then with its successor the Byzantine Empire. In the Sasanian period Zoroastrianism became the state religion, and much of the iconography in Sasanian art is Zoroastrian in inspiration.
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The Parthian period is represented by the relief sculpture of a worshiper, facing front, with bushy hairstyle and hand upraised, and a silver rhyton (drinking-horn) with protome in the form of a roaring lion.
Metropolitan Museum, 51.72.1
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Sarikhani Collection, A.MW.1030
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Silver plates with scenes of feasting, investiture or the Sasanian king hunting are typical of the Sasanian period. A silver dish showing a Sasanian king, probably Shapur II (AD 309-379), hunting stags, is purely Sasanian in style and execution, but other silver vessels, although undoubtedly of Sasanian manufacture, have motifs that are classical in inspiration such as a vase showing a grape harvest and a dish with a goddess riding a lion in the centre surrounded by figures from Greek mythology. A heavy half life-size bronze bust of a Sasanian king can probably be identified as Yazdigird II (AD 439-57) by comparing his crown to well-dated coin portraits. There is a good selection of these in the exhibition.
British Museum, 1908,1118.1
Sarikhani Collection, A.MW.1075
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British Museum, 1897,1231.189
Sarikhani Collection, A.MW.2065
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One of the finest pieces in the exhibition is a silk textile from Jouarre Abbey on the outskirts of Paris, dating from the late Sasanian or post-Sasanian period. It shows birds, probably pheasants, in roundels on a red background. They have haloes around their heads, and diadems (head-bands), a sacred symbol of kingship in Zoroastrianism, tied around their necks. This textile is known to have been in the collection of the Abbey before AD 1000.
Jouarre Abbey
5. The Shahnameh
Sasanian rule came to an end with the Arab conquest and defeats at the Battles of Qadisiya (AD 636) and Nahavand (AD 642). But there was no overnight change, and pottery, silver plates, textiles, seals and coins continued to be produced in the Sasanian style for several centuries. Memories of the Parthian and Sasanian periods were preserved in the great national epic, the Shahnameh or Book of Kings, completed by the poet Firdowsi at the beginning of the 11th century AD drawing on earlier written and oral sources.
Sasanian rule came to an end with the Arab conquest and defeats at the Battles of Qadisiya (AD 636) and Nahavand (AD 642). But there was no overnight change, and pottery, silver plates, textiles, seals and coins continued to be produced in the Sasanian style for several centuries. Memories of the Parthian and Sasanian periods were preserved in the great national epic, the Shahnameh or Book of Kings, completed by the poet Firdowsi at the beginning of the 11th century AD drawing on earlier written and oral sources.
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Many of the stories in the Shahnameh and the accompanying illustrations (miniatures) feature Sasanian kings, such as a painting showing Bahram Gur (Bahram V) riding on a camel with the slave-girl Azadeh seated behind him playing a harp.
The finest copy of the Shahnameh in existence is usually acknowledged to be that prepared for Shah Tahmasp in 1525-1535 and dismembered by Arthur Houghton in the 1970s and a page in the exhibition shows Iranians fighting their arch enemy the Turanians.
The finest copy of the Shahnameh in existence is usually acknowledged to be that prepared for Shah Tahmasp in 1525-1535 and dismembered by Arthur Houghton in the 1970s and a page in the exhibition shows Iranians fighting their arch enemy the Turanians.
British Library, Add. ms. 18188
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Sarikhani Collection, I.MS.4025
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6. Change of Faith
The invading Arabs brought to Iran a new religion, Islam, and a new language, Arabic. As the Holy Quran was written in Arabic, it was extensively used on monuments and for inscriptions of a religious nature.
The invading Arabs brought to Iran a new religion, Islam, and a new language, Arabic. As the Holy Quran was written in Arabic, it was extensively used on monuments and for inscriptions of a religious nature.
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A glazed fritware tile, dating AD 1250-1300, perhaps from Kashan, has beautiful calligraphy with quotations from the Quran.
In the 16th century Twelver Shiism was adopted by the Safavid rulers of Iran, and a modern alam (standard) is of the type that is carried in the Shia religious festival of Ashura which marks the tenth day of the holy mourning month of Muharram. This alam is covered with Koranic inscriptions and festooned with items of symbolic importance.
In the 16th century Twelver Shiism was adopted by the Safavid rulers of Iran, and a modern alam (standard) is of the type that is carried in the Shia religious festival of Ashura which marks the tenth day of the holy mourning month of Muharram. This alam is covered with Koranic inscriptions and festooned with items of symbolic importance.
Victoria & Albert Museum, 1527-1876
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Musée du quai Branly, 70.2013.4.1
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7. Literary excellence
Although Arabic was predominant for a few centuries after the invasion, Persian continued in use and was soon resurgent as a literary language from the ninth century onwards, and was used used by Firdowsi for the Shahnameh and by other later poets.
Although Arabic was predominant for a few centuries after the invasion, Persian continued in use and was soon resurgent as a literary language from the ninth century onwards, and was used used by Firdowsi for the Shahnameh and by other later poets.
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Two of Iran’s most famous poets are represented here. First, there is a copy of the Bustan (Garden of Scented Herbs) of the great scholar-poet Saadi (c. 1210-1292). This manuscript was copied in Iran in AD 1610. Then there is a Divan of Hafiz (AD 1315-1390), who is regarded as the greatest lyric poet in the Persian language. This divan (collection of poems) was copied in AD 1451.
Royal Collection, RCIN 1005015
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British Library, Add. ms. 7759
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In addition to manuscripts, Persian inscriptions appear on ceramics, metalwork and carpets.
For example, there is a fritware bowl from Kashan dating from around AD 1200 with painted decoration showing a pair of lovers seated by a tree at the side of a pool. It has a poetic inscription around the rim of the bowl. This bowl was shown in the 1931 exhibition. A candlestick holder dating from around AD 1600 is appropriately inscribed with the beautiful verse from Saadi’s Bustan about a fluttering moth being drawn to a candle only to risk being burnt.
For example, there is a fritware bowl from Kashan dating from around AD 1200 with painted decoration showing a pair of lovers seated by a tree at the side of a pool. It has a poetic inscription around the rim of the bowl. This bowl was shown in the 1931 exhibition. A candlestick holder dating from around AD 1600 is appropriately inscribed with the beautiful verse from Saadi’s Bustan about a fluttering moth being drawn to a candle only to risk being burnt.
Sarikhani Collection, I.CE.2054
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Victoria and Albert Museum, 481-1876
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8. The Architecture of Iran
The Safavid period (AD 1587-1629) was a golden age for Iran, and the country prospered under a succession of able rulers, notable amongst them Shah Abbas I (AD 1587-1629). For the first time since the Sasanian period greater Iran was united under one ruler. The economy boomed, contacts were forged with European powers, Twelver Shiism was adopted, and the arts flourished. An extensive building programme in Isfahan resulted in the city becoming known as “half the world” (Isfahan nesf-e jahan).
The Safavid period (AD 1587-1629) was a golden age for Iran, and the country prospered under a succession of able rulers, notable amongst them Shah Abbas I (AD 1587-1629). For the first time since the Sasanian period greater Iran was united under one ruler. The economy boomed, contacts were forged with European powers, Twelver Shiism was adopted, and the arts flourished. An extensive building programme in Isfahan resulted in the city becoming known as “half the world” (Isfahan nesf-e jahan).
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The beauty of the mosques of Isfahan is reflected in this part of the exhibition. In 1877, in keeping with its mission to collect copies or casts of great works of art, the Victoria and Albert Museum commissioned actual size painted copies of the spectacular tilework on the inside of the dome of the Mosque of Sheikh Lotfollah. These consist of three gigantic wedge-shaped paintings stretching up towards the roof of the gallery. These are now on show for the first time in this exhibition, following a comprehensive conservation programme. Near the paintings is a high level video presentation showing the inside of the dome of the mosque as it appears today.
Victoria and Albert Museum, 646-1878; 633-1878; 645-1878
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Patronage of the arts did not die with the end of Safavid rule, and many splendid works of art continued to be produced during the course of the 17th century.
A spectacular frieze of tiles from above an arch in a palace in Isfahan, dated to AD 1600-1700, is executed in brilliant blue, yellow and green colours and shows hunting scenes reminiscent of those on Sasanian plates dating from a thousand years earlier (cf. the silver plate from the British Museum showing a Sasanian king hunting stags).
A spectacular frieze of tiles from above an arch in a palace in Isfahan, dated to AD 1600-1700, is executed in brilliant blue, yellow and green colours and shows hunting scenes reminiscent of those on Sasanian plates dating from a thousand years earlier (cf. the silver plate from the British Museum showing a Sasanian king hunting stags).
Sarikhani Collection, I.CE.1033a,b
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A carpet belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch of Boughton House in Northamptonshire dates from AD 1650-1700. It is often said that Persian carpets are like paintings, and this particular carpet is an excellent example of that phenomenon. (Catalogue no. 182 ). The cartouches in the surrounding border have scenes of battle between fabulous monsters, while some of the cartouches in the centre of the carpet show figures on horseback holding falcons.
Two paintings from the Royal Collection of a man and a woman were executed in Isfahan between 1650 and 1700 by an Armenian painter named Markos. They are reminiscent of Dutch paintings of this date, showing evidence of foreign contact, but many of the details such as the costumes are clearly of local origin (Catalogue nos 183-4).
Two paintings from the Royal Collection of a man and a woman were executed in Isfahan between 1650 and 1700 by an Armenian painter named Markos. They are reminiscent of Dutch paintings of this date, showing evidence of foreign contact, but many of the details such as the costumes are clearly of local origin (Catalogue nos 183-4).
Boughton House, B.H.502 (12)
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Royal Collection, RCIN 407811, 407299
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9. The Old and the New
The Qajar period (1796-1925) was a time when Iran was caught up in the great game between the imperial powers, failed to modernise, and lost Caucasian territories to Russia. The outstanding rulers of this period were Fath Ali Shah (1797-1834) and Nasir al-Din Shah (1848-1896). There was much foreign influence as well as interference, but many works of art from this period are undeniably Persian in character and inspiration.
The Qajar period (1796-1925) was a time when Iran was caught up in the great game between the imperial powers, failed to modernise, and lost Caucasian territories to Russia. The outstanding rulers of this period were Fath Ali Shah (1797-1834) and Nasir al-Din Shah (1848-1896). There was much foreign influence as well as interference, but many works of art from this period are undeniably Persian in character and inspiration.
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Thus, a Portrait of Fath Ali Shah dated to 1815 typically shows him with an enormous black beard and wearing a jewelled crown and costume. A painting of Women in a Harem probably dates from the time of Nasir al-Din Shah and shows women gathered around a stove on which is a teapot. Some of the women are smoking and playing musical instruments. The short skirts suggest that the painting dates from a period after one of Nasir al-Din Shah’s visits to Europe, where he was much impressed by the short skirts worn by ballerinas and sought to introduce the same fashion into his own court.
Private Collection
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Victoria and Albert Museum, P.56-1941
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10. Modern and contemporary Iran
The modern era in Iran has witnessed great change. Reza Shah came to power in 1925 and ushered in a period of rapid modernisation and socio-political reform. This was continued by Mohammad Reza Shah, who succeeded his father in 1941, but the speed and nature of the changes were not acceptable to some sections of society and led to the Revolution of 1979 that signalled an end to the Pahlavi dynasty and the beginning of the Islamic Republic. This was followed shortly afterward by the Iraq-Iran War (1980-88) which had devastating humanitarian, social, political and economic effects. The economy has still not recovered, and recently received a further body-blow through internationally-imposed sanctions. Nevertheless, enthusiasm for their cultural heritage is still rampant amongst Iranians of all ages, and new archaeological excavations and conservation projects abound.
The modern era in Iran has witnessed great change. Reza Shah came to power in 1925 and ushered in a period of rapid modernisation and socio-political reform. This was continued by Mohammad Reza Shah, who succeeded his father in 1941, but the speed and nature of the changes were not acceptable to some sections of society and led to the Revolution of 1979 that signalled an end to the Pahlavi dynasty and the beginning of the Islamic Republic. This was followed shortly afterward by the Iraq-Iran War (1980-88) which had devastating humanitarian, social, political and economic effects. The economy has still not recovered, and recently received a further body-blow through internationally-imposed sanctions. Nevertheless, enthusiasm for their cultural heritage is still rampant amongst Iranians of all ages, and new archaeological excavations and conservation projects abound.
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Both before and after the Revolution artists have flourished, and while producing outstanding works that owe much to the modern era of international engagement, many of the works are still recognisably Iranian in content and inspiration.
An early work (1964-6) of Parviz Tanavoli, arguably Iran’s greatest living artist, consists of two highly abstract figures who are identified as Farhad and Shirin, figures in a tragic love story by NIzami Ganjavi, the 12th century Persian poet.
‘Farvahar’ by Massoud Arabshahi is a geometric interpretation of the fravahar/fravashi, the winged symbol associated from ancient times onwards with the Zoroastrian religion. Like Tanavoli, Arabshahi was a member of the Saqqakhaneh schcool, an Iranian art movement that sought to reinterpret traditional ideas and motifs in a in a modernist context.
A characteristic mirror mosaic by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, 1974 recalls the fantastic glass mirror work in Iranian palaces and shrines from the Safavid period onwards.
An early work (1964-6) of Parviz Tanavoli, arguably Iran’s greatest living artist, consists of two highly abstract figures who are identified as Farhad and Shirin, figures in a tragic love story by NIzami Ganjavi, the 12th century Persian poet.
‘Farvahar’ by Massoud Arabshahi is a geometric interpretation of the fravahar/fravashi, the winged symbol associated from ancient times onwards with the Zoroastrian religion. Like Tanavoli, Arabshahi was a member of the Saqqakhaneh schcool, an Iranian art movement that sought to reinterpret traditional ideas and motifs in a in a modernist context.
A characteristic mirror mosaic by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, 1974 recalls the fantastic glass mirror work in Iranian palaces and shrines from the Safavid period onwards.
'The Poet and the Beloved of the King', Parviz Tanavoli. Tate, T13684
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'Farvahar', Massoud Arabshahi. Mohammad Afkhami Collection
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Untitiled, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian. Private Collection
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Inevitably some of the works on show, both from before and after the revolution, are political statements, and one such is a two-screen video installation by Shirin Neshat entitled ‘Turbulent’ (1998). One screen shows a man singing to a packed all-male audience hall, and the other shows a woman singing to an empty hall; the two screens together are a powerful comment on gender inequality.
'Turbulent', Shirin Neshat
The youth of modern Iran is encapsulated in the work Miss Hybrid (2008) by the late Shirin Aliabadi which shows a young woman with swept-back headscarf, platinum blond hair, fake blue eyes, bandaged nose and bubble gum. The identity crisis is undeniable.
Many of the works of Aliabadi’s husband, Farhad Moshiri, are associated with archaeological bric-à-brac, such as pottery jars inscribed with the word eshgh (love). In this piece (2007), Moshiri has written the word eshgh in Swarovski crystals.
Many of the works of Aliabadi’s husband, Farhad Moshiri, are associated with archaeological bric-à-brac, such as pottery jars inscribed with the word eshgh (love). In this piece (2007), Moshiri has written the word eshgh in Swarovski crystals.
'Miss Hybrid #3', Shirin Aliabadi. Farjam Collection
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'Eshge', Farhad Moshiri. Farjam Collection
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A beautiful hand-drawn animation by Avish Khebrehzadeh entitled ‘All the White Horses’ (2016) evokes different reactions. For some people it recalls the horses, real and mythical, of the Shahnameh, such as Rakhsh, the legendary horse of the hero Rustam. Others are reminded that the plains of Western Iran have been a famous breeding ground for horses from remote antiquity onwards. The galloping wild horses also symbolise freedom.
A fitting finale to the exhibition is a bronze casting in the form of twigs from a tree by Hossein Valamanesh (2013). The sculpture spells out the Persian words “īn nīz bogzarad”, “this will also pass”, a famous Sufi saying.
A fitting finale to the exhibition is a bronze casting in the form of twigs from a tree by Hossein Valamanesh (2013). The sculpture spells out the Persian words “īn nīz bogzarad”, “this will also pass”, a famous Sufi saying.
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'This will also pass', Hossein Valamanesh. Farjam Collection
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