Finding aid for the Abdullah Mirza Qajar album of Iran, between 1883 and 1896
Beth Ann Guynn
Descriptive Summary
Title: Abdullah Mirza Qajar album of Iran
Date (inclusive): between 1883 and
1896
Number: 2021.R.15
Creator/Collector:
Qajar, Abdullah Mizra, 1850-1909
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet
(61 photographs in 1 album)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: An album of 61 albumen photographs of
Iran taken by Abdullah Mirza Qajar between 1883 and 1896. Although there are a few
bird's-eye views of Tehran and some images of Qajar buildings, the photographs primarily
depict buildings in ruins or disrepair located near towns and villages or in isolated
settings. Locales present in the album include Kerman, Khurāsān, Qom, Ray, Dāmghān, Bāstāan,
Qazvīn, Ribat-ī Machi, and Radkan.
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Language: Collection material is in
No linguistic content; Not applicable
.
Biographical / Historical
Abdullah Mirza Qajar (1850-1909), the son of Jahangir Mirza Qajar and the grandson of
Fath'ali Shāh Qajar, was member of the royal family of Iran. After attending Dār ul-Funun
polytechnic school, Iran's first institution of higher learning, Qajar was sent to Paris
around 1878 by the school's director who was also the Iranian minister of Science, Commerce,
and the Arts, to complete his training in photography. He followed his year-and-a-half in
Paris with studies in Vienna and then spent three years at Salzburg's Kaiserliche-Königliche
Staastgewerbescule. Qajar studied chemistry and typographic and photographic techniques such
as zincography, phototypy, photolithography, and galvanoplasty as well as practical skills
such as photo retouching.
After his return to Tehran, Qajar printed maps of Iranian towns, but the meager success he
experienced as a printer caused him to turn to photography. By 1883, he was a photographer
in the Qajar court of Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh with the title of Royal Private Photographer. He
also taught photography at Dār ul-Funun. Over the years Qajar was sent on assignment to
photograph both new and ancient buildings in places such as Khurāsān, Ray, Qum, Tabrīz,
Kirmānshāh, Masshad, and Kāshān. He photographed urban development in towns throughout Iran
and documented archeological and historical sites including Astarabad, the birthplace of the
Qajar dynasty. In short, Abdullah Mirza Qajar had moved from one type of visual mapping to
another, recording the territories of Persia, and especially areas of geopolitical
importance to the dynasty, with his camera.
After the assassination of Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh in 1896, whose funeral Qajar photographed,
Qajar's commissions decreased. Aside from trips to Europe in 1900 and 1903 accompanying
Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh's successor, Muẓaffar al-Dīn Shāh, as special photographer, Qajar seems
to have received few new royal commissions. He spent the remainder of his career as head of
the Royal Printing Office.
Sources Consulted:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Finding aid for the Nafisi
Family Photograph Albums of Qajar Iran, FSA.A2010.05.
https://sova.si.edu/record/FSA.A2010.05?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=*%3A*&i=0
Pinguet, Catherine. "Le photographe Abdullah Mirza Qajar (1850-1909) et les funérailles de
Nassered Din-Shah (1896)." In: Adnan Sezer and Bruno Tartarin,
Perse. https://photo-discovery.com
Stepanian, Arman. "A Study of Aesthetics in the Works of Photographers during Qajar Reign,"
Aks (
Picture: Scientific, Cultural
& Artistic Monthly
), vol. 12, no. 140 (Oct. 23-Nov. 21, 1998).
http://www.qajarpages.org/qajarphotoart.html
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Abdullah Mirza Qajar album of Iran, between 1883 and 1896, The Getty Research Institute,
Los Angeles, Accession no. 2021.R.15.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2021r15
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired in 2021.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Beth Ann Guynn in 2022.
Digitized Material
The collection was digitized by the repository in 2022 and the images are available
online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/2021r15
Scope and Content of Collection
The album contains 61 albumen photographs of Iran taken by Abdullah Mirza Qajar between
1883 and 1896. Although there are a few bird's-eye views of Tehran and some images of Qajar
buildings, the photographs primarily depict buildings in ruins or disrepair located near
towns and villages or in isolated settings, and are thus representative of the photographic
campaigns Qajar made throughout Persia. Locales depicted include Kerman, Khurāsān, Qom, Ray,
Dāmghān, Bāstāan, Qazvīn, Ribat-ī Machi, and Radkan. While many of the photographs include
horsemen, in only a few are humans the main subject: one photograph depicts a pottery vendor
sitting in his shop; another shows fishermen standing along a shore holding their catches,
and the third depicts bathers at a watering hole.
The album is half bound in brown leather with gilt bands at corners and decorative gilt
bands on the spine. The photographs are numbered in their negatives.
The titles of the individual photographs were devised by the archivist.
Arrangement
Arranged in a single series:
Series I: Abdullah Mirza
Qajar album of Iran, between 1883 and 1896.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Mosques -- Iran
Minarets -- Iran
Subjects - Places
Iran -- Antiquities
Iran -- Description and travel
Genres and Forms of Material
Photograph albums -- Iran -- 19th century
Photographs, Original.
Albumen prints -- Iran -- 19th century
Contributors
Qajar, Abdullah Mizra, 1850-1909
Abdullah Mirza Qajar album of Iran,
between 1883 and
1896
Arrangement
In original order.
Box 1, page Free front
endpapers
2021.R.15-fc
Front endpapers
Box 1, page free front endpaper
verso
2021.R.15-fev
Verso of free front endpaper
Box 1, page 1 recto
2021.R.15-1r
[Dāmghān: Minaret of Asjid-I Juma]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 43(?). Written on mount: Bastami.
Box 1, page 1 verso
2021.R.15-1v
[Qom: View of the New Court of the Astanah-i Hazrat-i Ma'sumah Looking
towards the East Iwan]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 183.
Box 1, page 2 recto
2021.R.15-2r
[Iran: Minaret]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 432.
Box 1, page 2 verso
2021.R.15-2v
[Qom: View of the Mirror Iwan, Astanah-i Hazrat-i Ma'sumah]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 196.
Box 1, page 3 recto
2021.R.15-3r
[Iran: Gate and Domed Roofs]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 180.
Box 1, page 3 verso
2021.R.15-3v
[Iran: Gate]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 94.
Box 1, page 4 recto
2021.R.15-4r
[Iran: Ruined Minaret and Domed Buildings Reflected in a Pool]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 181.
Box 1, page 4 verso
2021.R.15-4v
[Iran: Clerics Gathered in front of a Gate Topped with a
Clocktower]
Box 1, page 5 recto
2021.R.15-5r
[Iran: Gate with Peeling Plaster]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 453.
Box 1, page 5 verso
2021.R.15-5v
[Basṭām: Gunbad-i Bastam]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 442 (?).
Box 1, page 6 recto
2021.R.6r
[Tehran: View across Rooftops]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 174.
Box 1, page 6 verso
2021.R.15-6v
[Iran: Caravanserai (?)]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 94.
Box 1, page 7 recto
2021.R.15-7r
[Tehran: Large Crowd in Maydan-i Tupkhana]
Scope and Content Note
Maydan-i Arg, Square of Canons. Numbered in negative: 628.
Box 1, page 7 verso
2021.R.15-7v
[Iran: View across Rooftops]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 297.
Box 1, page 8 recto
2021.R.15-8r
[Iran: Herd of Sheep on Mountain Plain outside a Village]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 177.
Box 1, page 8 verso
2021.R.15-8v
[Kerman: View Looking towards Rayen Castle]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 461.
Box 1, page 9 recto
2021.R.15-9r
[Iran: The Place Where Naseri Governed]
Scope and Content Note
Title from copy in Golestan Palace. See: Muḥammad ̣ῌasan Simsār,
Golestan Palace: Photo Archives: Catalogue of Qajar Selected
Photographs
(1390 [2011 or 2012]).
Box 1, page 9 verso
2021.R.15-9v
[Iran: Oblique View of a Gate or Door]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 450.
Box 1, page 10 recto
2021.R.15-10r
[Iran: City View across Rooftops]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 212.
Box 1, page 10 verso
2021.R.15-10v
[Qazvīn: Al-Nabi Mosque]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 207.
Box 1, page 11 recto
2021.R.15-11r
[Iran: Photographer's (?) Tent in front of Tower Ruins]
Box 1, page 11 verso
2021.R.15-11v
[Iran: Bridge over River Falls]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 473.
Box 1, page 12 recto
2021.R.15-12r
[Iran: Village Rooftops]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N425.
Box 1, page 12 verso
2021.R.15-12v
[Iran: Mosque and Cemetery]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 498.
Box 1, page 13 recto
2021.R.15-13r
[Qūchān, Khurāsān: View across Rooftops]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 500.
Box 1, page 13 verso
2021.R.15-13v
[Iran: Cemetery with Mosque on the Horizon Line]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 185.
Box 1, page 14 recto
2021.R.15-14r
[Iran: Carpet with Tree and Leaf Motifs]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 204.
Box 1, page 15 recto
2021.R.15r
[Iran: Pottery Merchant Sitting in his Shop]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 200. The shadows of the photographer and his camera along
with the shadows of several other men are visible in the foreground.
Box 1, page 15 verso
2021.R.15-15v
[Iran: Covered Bridge Spanning a Gorge]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 524.
Box 1, page 16 recto
2021.R.15-16r
[Iran: Fishermen Standing along the Shore with Their Catches]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 85.
Box 1, page 16 verso
2021.R.15-16v
[Ribat-i Mahi: Ribat-i Mahi Caravanserai Gate Flanked by a Standing Man and a
Horseman]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 561.
Box 1, page 17 recto
2021.R.15-17r
[Iran: Mountain Farm]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 53.
Box 1, page 17 verso
2021.R.15-17v
[Damavand: Shebeli Tower]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 30. Tomb of Sheikh Shebeli.
Box 1, page 18 recto
2021.R.15-18r
[Iran: Fluted Tower with Conical Dome near a Village]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 19.
Box 1, page 18 verso
2021.R.15-18v
[Iran: Two-Story Home with Reflecting Pool]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 72.
Box 1, page 19 recto
2021.R.15-19r
[Iran: Mosque and Tower Ruins]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 427.
Box 1, page 19 verso
2021.R.15-19v
[Iran: Citadel Walls and Minaret]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 17.
Box 1, page 20 recto
2021.R.15-20r
[Iran: Oloq Babaye Nassery Ruins with Horsemen]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 565.
Box 1, page 21 recto
2021.R.15-21r
[Radkan: Mil-i Gharb Radkan]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 59.
Box 1, page 21 verso
2021.R.15-21v
[Iran: Countryside with Trees and Buildings]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 468.
Box 1, page 22 recto
2021.R.15-22r
[Radkan: Mil-i Sharq Radkan]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 503.
Box 1, page 22 verso
2021.R.15-22v
[Iran: Mountain Village]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 14.
Box 1, page 23 recto
2021.R.15-23r
[Iran: Mosque Facade in Snow]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N215.
Box 1, page 23 verso
2021.R.15-23v
[Iran: Domed Mosque]
Box 1, page 24 recto
2021.R.15-24r
[Iran: View across Tombstones to Mosque]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 491.
Box 1, page 24 verso
2021.R.15-24v
[Iran: Tower Nestled in Trees]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 467.
Box 1, page 25 recto
2021.R.15-25r
[Iran: Ruined Tower in Mountain Plain]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 12.
Box 1, page 25 verso
2021.R.15-25v
[Iran: Mountain Stream]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N62.
Box 1, page 26 recto
2021.R.15-26r
[Masshad, Khurāsān: Khorshid Palace of Kalat]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 538.
Box 1, page 26 verso
2021.R.15-26v
[Iran: Mud Wall and Village]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 538 or 532.
Box 1, page 27 recto
2021.R.15-27r
[Iran: Covered Bridge across a Gorge with Round Ruin Fragment in
Stream]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 527.
Box 1, page 27 verso
2021.R.15-27v
[Iran: Mountain Village with Stream]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 7.
Box 1, page 28 recto
2021.R.15-28r
[Iran: Clerics in front of a Mosque]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 516.
Box 1, page 28 verso
2021.R.15-28v
[Iran: Gate]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N465.
Box 1, page 29 recto
2021.R.15-29r
[Iran: View across Cemetery to Mosque]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 428.
Box 1, page 29 verso
2021.R.15-29v
[Radkan: Mil-i Gharb Radkan]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 87.
Box 1, page 30 recto
2021.R.15-30r
[Iran: Shepherds and Tents with Wool]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 502.
Box 1, page 30 verso
2021.R.15-30v
[Masshad, Khurāsān: Tomb of Arsalan Jazeb and Ayaz Minaret]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: 560.
Box 1, page 31 recto
2021.R.15-31r
[Iran: Countryside Watering Hole with Bathers]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 11.
Box 1, page 31 verso-1
2021.R.15-31v.1
[Iran: View across Rooftops]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 13.
Box 1, page 31 verso-2
2021.R.15-31v.2
[Iran: Conical Tower on Rooftops]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N 58.
Box 1, page Back paste-down
endpaper
2021.R.15-bpe
Back paste-down end paper
