National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; this acquisition was made possible by generous contributions from Jeane W. Austin and the James Smithson Society
- FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo manipulation reads, "Varnish on the top third of the image."
- FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo condition reads, "The glass negative is broken."
- Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 51.1: Man." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]
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 51."
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.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.4 2.12.GN.51.01
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 17.5 cm. x 23.3 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
1880s-1928
Scope and Contents:
Joseph Upton purchased 66 black-and-white gelatin silver photoprints in 1928 from Antoin Sevruguin in Tehran (Iran), and subsequently donated them to the Committee for Islamic Culture, as reported in their official minutes of October 24, 1953.
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "415."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1322."
- On verso of the print, handwritten number (penciled) reads, "235."
- On verso of the print, handwritten caption (penciled, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) in French reads, "Juive."
Arrangement:
Gelatin silver prints arranged in sequential number following Joseph Upton's handwritten list of captions, and ultimately organized by Myron B. Smith into subject categories (royalty, people, executions, criminals, punishment, architecture). This print is in the following subject category: People.
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:
58.G.55
[Myron Bement Smith collection. Freer/Sackler Archives, No. A.4.67]
FSA A.4 2.12.Up.55
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 16.7 cm. x 22.5 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
1880s-1928
Scope and Contents:
Joseph Upton purchased 66 black-and-white gelatin silver photoprints in 1928 from Antoin Sevruguin in Tehran (Iran), and subsequently donated them to the Committee for Islamic Culture, as reported in their official minutes of October 24, 1953.
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "373."
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1236."
- On verso of the print, handwritten number (penciled) reads, "202."
- On verso of the print, handwritten caption (penciled, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) in French reads, "Juives."
Arrangement:
Gelatin silver prints arranged in sequential number following Joseph Upton's handwritten list of captions, and ultimately organized by Myron B. Smith into subject categories (royalty, people, executions, criminals, punishment, architecture). This print is in the following subject category: People.
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:
58.G.28
[Myron Bement Smith collection. Freer/Sackler Archives, No. A.4.1]
[16(E9)]
FSA A.4 2.12.Up.28
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
1 Item (photographic print, b&w, 16.5 cm. x 22.6 cm.)
Type:
Archival materials
Gelatin silver prints
Photographic prints
Studio portraits
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
1880s-1928
Scope and Contents:
Joseph Upton purchased 66 black-and-white gelatin silver photoprints in 1928 from Antoin Sevruguin in Tehran (Iran), and subsequently donated them to the Committee for Islamic Culture, as reported in their official minutes of October 24, 1953.
- On recto of the print, handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "214."
- On verso of the print, handwritten caption (penciled, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) in French reads, "Kurdesse."
Arrangement:
Gelatin silver prints arranged in sequential number following Joseph Upton's handwritten list of captions, and ultimately organized by Myron B. Smith into subject categories (royalty, people, executions, criminals, punishment, architecture). This print is in the following subject category: People.
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:
58.G.32
[Myron Bement Smith collection. Freer/Sackler Archives]
[17(A1)]
[FSA.3]
FSA A.4 2.12.Up.32
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
"Portrait of the seated woman in velvet, wearing a pearl rope. The outline of the woman's face is visible under her sheer face cover. The pleated skirt of the woman indicates that the photo is produced most likely in the early 20th century. The composition and subject matter of the photo is different from other studio portraiture of women in Sevruguin's collection. The face of the figure is covered in this image and there is no trace of a background studio setting. The woman turns away from the camera, giving only a partial view of her profile." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 2: unknown." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P: Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran]
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 2."
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.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.4 2.12.GN.02.07
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
