Back to shop An Album of Artists’ Drawings from Qajar Iran Email Share on Facebook Share on Twitter $ 50.00 Edited by David J. Roxburgh Published in 2017 ISBN 9780300229189 244 pages, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 in. 237 color illustrations Hardcover (paper over board) Published by the Harvard Art Museums Distributed by Yale University Press Winner, 2018 First Place (Exhibition Catalogues), New England Museum Association 2017 AIGA 50 Books | 50 Covers, American Institute of Graphic Arts and Design Observer 2018 Publication Awards (First Place, Exhibition Catalogues), New England Museum Association 2018 Publication Design Competition (First Prize, Books), American Alliance of Museums An in-depth examination that not only beautifully illustrates the remarkable collection of nearly 150 works in the album, but also sheds new light on artistic practices and processes from Iran’s Qajar dynasty Harvard’s Qajar Album—57 folios, with nearly 150 drawings, paintings, prints, and embossed works—is a remarkably wide-ranging collection of human, animal, and floral studies; narrative compositions inspired by Persian classic literature and historical subjects; religious themes; and portraits of rulers and heroes. Because these types of works were originally created as technical materials for artists to use in their daily work, most have been lost over time as a result of repeated use and subsequent damage or disposal. This publication offers a rare opportunity not only to appreciate the ingenuity of the individual works, but also to gain a better understanding of the entire system of artistic production and exchange in 19th-century Iran. The book unites 12 essays with a beautiful full-size facsimile of the complete album. From the necessarily global story of how the album came to be housed at the Harvard Art Museums—spanning Iran, Germany, England, and the United States—to the in-depth examination of individual themes and techniques, the publication exposes a rich network of artistic influence, exchange, and innovation. In doing so, it calls on us to question what has been left out of the dominant histories of art and to consider possible alternative definitions of what can be thought of as “modern.” The related exhibition, Technologies of the Image: Art in 19th-Century Iran, is on view at the Harvard Art Museums from August 26, 2017 through January 7, 2018. David J. Roxburgh is the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Professor of Islamic Art History and Chair of the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. Purchase at Touchnet
