Tag Archives: Persia

Aga Khan Museum shows trends merging with tradition in 19th century Iran

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.

A microcosm of life in 19th century Iran on a pen case.

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