Dodmore Cotton was the first accredited British ambassador to Shah Abbas the Great. Officially, the embassy was tasked with establishing formal trade and diplomatic relations between England and Persia. Unofficially, it aimed to resolve the diplomatic impasse following the public fisticuffs in London between Robert Sherley and Abbas’ 1625 ambassador to Europe, Naqd Ali Beg …
That’s what Lord Curzon thought about Thomas Herbert’s A relation of some yeares travaile… into the Territories of the Persian Monarchie. Herbert’s account, of his journey to Persia in 1627-29 as a junior member of the Dodmore Cotton embassy, is one of my favourites too, even if most Safavid historians pay much less attention to …
Shirin Neshat is the first artist of Middle East origin and first woman since 2009 to have a solo show at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington. Ms Neshat is an expatriate Iranian and much of her work is identified with gender politics in the Islamic Republic. After her seminal Women of Allah photographic series, and the …
I’ve just been travelling close by the Roman-Sasanian border: around Diyarbakir, or Amida, as the Assyrians and Romans called it. It was a lesson in the long history of multicultural-ness of that area – now on the edges of Syria, Iraq and Turkey. Diyarbakir / Amida is an important node in the ancient international trade …
Even though the Safavid ‘Coronation carpet’ failed to sell at Sothebys recently, its story can’t fail to interest you. It was used at the coronation of two British Kings, Edward VII (in 1902) and George V (1911), as well as at the marriage of Princess Mary (1922). Click here to see what I’m talking about The …
The Islamic Sales this week were, as usual, a great chance to see – and even handle – high quality objects. I went to Christies with a friend of mine and we drooled over the only known Mongol carpet (yes, you read that correctly – the only one!). This was not only gorgeous – the …
Flamingoes are returning to Lake Urmia – or so Ettela’at reported via @IranFrontPage this week. It’s usually bad news on the environmental front in Iran, so if it’s really happening, this is wonderful! I already blogged about how Lake Urmia has been turning into a salt waste. And I didn’t altogether believe in the half a …
An exhibition on Qajar beauty is on in Qatar at the moment, including some splendid photos as well as paintings. The Qajar period was a time when ideals of feminine beauty changed greatly. Elsewhere on my website, I’ve shown how Qajar Bakhtiari women (top left image) were thought beautiful if they had a moon face, at least …
Yesterday was sizdeh behdar – the thirteenth day of the new year, and a time to go outside and picnic. It’s when you throw your sabzeh (from your Sofreh Haft Sin) into water, to wash away your negativity. And a time for young women and men to get together – tying knots either into the …
Goncheh Ghavami has been pardoned for the ‘crime’ of standing peacefully outside the Azadi Stadium asking to be allowed to watch Iran’s volleyball team play against Italy. Her protest – along with some other activists – challenged the longstanding ban in the Islamic republic against women attending big sporting events alongside male fans. Although she is …