"The Seljuk Shrine/mosque has a lengthy list of restorations during the years, a few of the most significant of which is from Qajar period. From adding minarets and tile work to restoring the other structures and shrines around the main building, works were carried out in the span of about a hundred years during the reigns of Fath Ali Shah, Nasir al-Din Shah and Muzaffar al-Din Shah Qajar. Its golden dome was added during Nasir al-Din Shah's reign, who ordered the dome to be covered in Gold covered copper sheets around 1850s. The minarets were added around 1890s. Many of the images of the building in the 1900s publications are missing the most recent addition of the minarets." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo condition reads, "Albumen print, faded on the outer boundaries."
- Handwritten Cyrillic signature in white (inked), probably by Antoin Sevruguin reads: "Cebpróôun."
Arrangement:
Page fifty-four of an album of 99 mounted albumen prints with attractive leather covers and embossed green star-and-crescent design.
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.
Local Numbers:
FSA A2011.03 A.54a
General:
Title and Summary notes are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
