"The women are photographed in what seems like an andaruni or private room. The one in the centre - in more elaborate clothing and lounging on a mukhaddara or a rolled up mattress - is supporting her head on her left palm, leaning against the frame of the window. The other woman, sitting on the left, is wearing a simple black chador and white maghna'a or headscarf and hold her arm to her chest. The two women are positioned diagonally around a Kursi on top of which a mirror is facing the woman on the right. A third and smaller figure, with her face turned away from the camera, appears on the far right side the image, holding the neck of a ghalyan or shaisha. The woman in the centre of the image, though having the mirror in front of her, is looking away from the mirror and into the distance. The rigid pose of the central figure and the careful positioning of her hands in opposite directions signals the artificiality of the setting. The diverted gazes of the two women produce the illusion of the photographer intruding upon an intimate space, the presence of whom remains unnoted by the attendants. The photo is a close relative of another (43.10) in the archives that shows the same three women, this time gathered around the Kursi with one directly engaging the gaze of the camera." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo manipulation reads, "There are visible brush marks all over the centre of the image, which might be the results of applying varnish."
- Handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "865."
- Handwritten information on slip of paper (from a 1943-1944 cash book, produced by the Bathni Brothers, Tehran) reads, "63) Persian kursi." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information]
- Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 30.3: Persian kursi (# 63)." [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 30."
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.30.03
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.
"The image is the close relative of another image in the archive of Sevruguin's negatives that depict the same three women in similar attire and setting but in different poses (FSA A.4 2.12.GN.31.03)." [Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Curatorial Research Assistant]
- FSg curatorial research specialist remark on Antoin Sevruguin photo manipulation reads, "Black paper on the back. Very little black ink on the face of the negative. The face of the woman on the right and left are touched up. Varnish."
- Handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "341."
- Scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "1238."
- Scratched handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) not readable.
- Handwritten information on slip of paper (from a 1943-1944 cash book, produced by the Bathni Brothers, Tehran) reads, "119) Persian women under kursi." [Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information]
- Myron Bement Smith handwritten caption in English reads, "47.P; Box 43.10: Persian woman under kursi (# 119)." [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 43."
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.43.10
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.
