"A Bakhtiari guard posing beside the Sassanid inscriptions of Ganj-nama (in Cuneiform), located close to the city of Hamadan. The two inscriptions were most probably ordered by Darius I and Xerxes I." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "12."
- On recto of the print, faded handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "587."
- On verso of the print, handwritten number (penciled) reads, "47.9."
- On verso of the print (lower left corner), original stamp, in French and Persian, reads, "Photographie Sevruguin."
- On verso of the print, Myron Bement Smith caption in English reads, "Persia; Hamadān; Gang Nameh [Ganj Nameh]; Curzon i., 566: Trilingual inscriptions relating names and titles of Darius, first due to interpretation of cuneiform in mountain range of Mount Girend near Hamadan."
Arrangement:
Gelatin silver prints organized by Myron B. Smith into subject categories (People; Architecture - Pre-Islamic; Royalty - Residences - Gulistan Palace (Tehran; Architecture; Landscapes). This print is in the following subject category: Architecture - Pre-Islamic.
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, although his family studio continued for some time as a commercial enterprise.
