February 2015 | BIPS TRAVEL GRANT

With the help of a travel grant from the British Institute of Persian Studies, I was able to visit Iran from late February – March 2016. My trip was a pilot visit for my PhD research, entitled The Masculine Image in Qajar Iran: 1779-1925, which I am carrying out at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London.

The generous support of BIPS allowed me to visit museums, libraries and places of interest in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, where I carried out important research. I was firstly based in Tehran, where the Malek Museum and Library is located – an institution which houses many important Qajar documents and paintings. My trip allowed me to not only ascertain what these collections held, but was a valuable lesson in how to access materials in Iran. This was followed by some time spent at the Moghaddam Museum; a wonderful former mansion which now features the collection of historical objects which belonged to Mohsen Moghaddam. Lastly, no Qajar-themed visit to Tehran would be complete without a trip to the splendid Golestan Palace, where I was also able to see collections of Qajar photography and art housed in the palace collections and Negar-khaneh.

A short excursion to Isfahan allowed me to see first hand the buildings and environs from Isfahan’s time as Safavid capital, which I had studied at MA level. Contact with these spaces in ‘real life’ was a very useful exercise for future teaching opportunities (as well has having many Isfahani’s bend my ear about their discontent at the Qajars having destroyed much of the city!).

In Shiraz, I ventured around a number of the houses formerly belonging to the Qajar elite, which featured decorative architectural elements that constitute part of my research materials; including bas reliefs and mosaic murals from Eram Garden to the Narenjestan Museum.

Without the kind support of BIPS, I wouldn’t have been able to access valuable first hand source documents and see art works in Iranian collections. From this trip, I have been able to gather a compelling batch of evidence for analysis in my thesis, as well as providing an immersive opportunity to practice my Persian language skills. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to BIPS for giving me this opportunity.