Plate made for Mas’ud Mirza Zill al-Sultan of Persia, 1879. Qing dynasty (1644–1911), reign of the Guangzu emperor (1875–1907). Jingdezhen, China. Porcelain with “rose canton” decoration. Asian Art Museum, 1999.40.
If one had the money, one could acquire an ever-increasing quantity and variety of European goods and luxury wares in 17th-century Isfahan, including Italian velvet, London cloth and handbags, faux pearls and gold clocks. How were these European imports worn and displayed? What did they signify in the increasingly cosmopolitan city of Isfahan, a city referred to as “half the world” by its inhabitants? Dr. Amy Landau will delve into these questions about the social context of European luxury objects in 17 century Persia.
Dr. Touraj Daryaee, Howard C. Baskerville Professor in the History of Iran and the Persianate World and the Associate Director of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture at the University of California, Irvine discusses Alexander the Great and Persian culture and ideas at the Cyrus Cylinder Teacher Workshop at the Asian Art Museum on August 12, 2013 in conjunction with the Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia exhibition (August 9–September 22, 2013).
Asian Art Museum Storyteller, Leta Busyhead, tells a story about Cyrus the Great and the Cyrus Cylinder in the Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia exhibition at the Asian Art Museum (August 9–September 22, 2013).
Students compare and contrast the different ways in which people commemorate the passing of a year by interviewing their families, creating a tablescape, and sharing their traditions with their classmates.
A lecture series by renowned scholars on the arts of Asia—explore temples, palaces, and sometimes forgotten places of power, religion, and art. Visit world wonders not simply as tourists today, but as monks, monarchs, artisans and artistocrats, traders and explorers experienced them over the centuries.
The Society for Asian Art's renowned Arts of Asia lecture series will focus on trade roads and sea routes. You will be transported from courts to caravans, from stupas to shipwrecks, from mountain passes and river valleys to open seas. Travel with merchants and monks, monarchs and missionaries and see their riches and relics. Discover ancient ceramics, sculptures, coins, calligraphy, tea wares, textiles and much more.
Iran's rich history stretches back to about 8000 BCE, when the first settlements appeared in western Iran and the Caspian sea.
Map
The Cyrus Cylinder, 539–538 BCE. Iraq, Achaemenid period (550–330 BCE). Baked clay. © Trustees of the British Museum.
