The masterpieces of Iranian art now on exhibit at the Aga Khan Museum tell the story of a society at a crossroads between tradition and transformation, through pieces from the Louvre, Houston’s museum of fine arts, Sackler gallery and McGill University’s special collections vault. The trends are seen in a painting of the first Persian ruler to take full advantage of large-scale portraits as a symbol of power, a gift from Napoleon I, in rare book bindings, European military influences, pre-Islamic Iranian symbols, to Christian references in Persian art.