Falnama: The Book of Omens

Massumeh Farhad

Serpil Bagci

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

<p>Abolala Soudavar generously offered his mother Ezzat Malek's collection of Persian lacquerware as a gift to the Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and to the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C. The catalogue opens with an overview of Mrs.Soudavar's remarkable life in Iran and her interest in the arts. Other essays address the history and work of major lacquer artists of the Qajar era as well as the materials and techniques of Persian lacquerwork. Twenty highlights from the collection and a fully illustrated checklist complete this introduction to one of the world's foremost collections of Persian lacquer.</p>

A Collector's Passion: Ezzet Malek Soudavar and Persian Lacquer

Simon Rettig

Mary McWilliams

Arts & Photography

Co-published by Freer | Sackler and Harvard Art Museums

The Safavid dynasty represented the pinnacle of Iran’s power and influence in its early modern history. The evidence of this – the creation of a nation state, military expansion and success, economic dynamism, and the exquisite art and architecture of the period – is well-known. What is less understood is the extent to which the Safavid success depended on an elite originating from outside Iran: the slaves of Caucasian descent and the Armenian merchants of Isfahan. This book describes how these elites, following their conversion to Islam, helped to transform Isfahan’s urban, artistic and social landscape.

Slaves of the Shah: New Elites of Safavid Iran

History

Sussan Babaie

Kathryn Babayan

Ina Baghdiantz McCabe

Middle East

I.B.Tauris

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Massumeh Farhad. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Massumeh Farhad