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All the objects on
display in this museum have been systematically unearthed. So,
we know where the site is and who the excavator is. No object
has been bought to be exhibited in this museum. All the objects
have been arranged chronologically. This complex consists of the
national library and a bookstore too.
Pre-Islam Building
The oldest objects
on display date back to prehistoric eras. There is a three dimensional map
at the beginning of the hall of the first Building on which one can see
all parts of Iran. Then, very
ancient collections of potteries are displayed beginning from the 5th
millennium B.C, decorated very uncomplicatedly. The potteries are in three different
colors: red, buff and black.
There are also
various types of seals, clay tablets, figurines and ornaments. Bone-made
and alabaster-made objects are also on display.
The next series of
objects are bronze works of the north, northwest and Luristan province. In
Luristan bronze works? section, there can be visited samples of various
kinds of objects used either in everyday life or ceremonies.
A replica of
Hamurabi stele is also on display in addition to some other inscriptions
of ancient
Mesopotamia.
There are also
rhytons of various shapes and materials displayed next to each other.
In Achaemenians?
section, there are stone bass relieves, glazed bricks, stone wares, bronze
works, stairways, statues, columns, inscriptions and figurines.
One can notice the
Hellenistic influence in Iranian art right after the Achaemenian section.
There are lapis lazuli, potteries, stone and bone made objects in Seleucid
period section reflecting this influence in some objects. More influence
can be seen in the next section, Parthian period, where Greek gods are
displayed in form of figurines.
There are also glass
wares, potteries, stucco and stone relieves ornaments and ceramics in
display in this section.
The last section in
the first Building is allocated to Sassanian era, 3rd to 7th
century A.D, where one can see glass wares, bronze works, stucco relieves,
mosaic decoration, potteries, ceramics, ornaments and figurines.
Post-Islam Building
There are three
floors in this building. There is a showcase at the entrance of the first
floor displaying one of the oldest mosques in Iran,
Tari Khaneh, meaning the house of God. On the second floor, there are
galleries around a hall for post-Islam arts. The third floor houses
post-Islam architecture.
Arts? Hall
Since the central
theme of the post-Islam period, beginning since 7th century A.D,
is Koran, there is a central section in the arts? hall with various Korans
on paper and parchment together with a mehrab, a recessed wall directing
visitors toward the Black Cube in Mecca.
There are also
different galleries in each of which the objects belonging to one field of
art are displayed as follows:
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Lights;
displaying candlesticks and oil lamps in glass, brass, ceramic, pottery
and stone.
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Carpets & Textiles;
displaying various materials used for textiles and the different
techniques to create works of art on them as well as carpets, grave
covers, ceremonial shirts bearing specific prayers in special calligraphic
styles.
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Astronomical
instruments & Zodiac signs;
displaying brass or bronze astrolabes, manuscripts, books, globe,
miniature and oil painting in related themes.
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Ceramics;
displaying plates, vessels, ewers, dishes, bowls, oil lamps and bottles in
different shapes.
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Glass and medical
instruments;
displaying glass cupping tools, test tubes, test bowls, test bottles,
perfume holders, decanters, sprinklers, lamps, rhytons, manuscripts, etc.
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Metal works;
displaying swords, bowls, ewers, vases, braziers, caldrons, jugs, armlets,
bracelets, mirrors and their frames, water pipe bases and heads,
candlesticks, cups, basins, incense burners, mortars, pen boxes, knives,
boxes, lamps, trays and ladles in different metals and techniques, etc.
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Lacquer painting &
writing instruments;
displaying pen boxes, inkwells, writing sets, mirror frames, make up
boxes, manuscripts, etc.
Architecture Hall
In the architecture
floor, there are also different galleries each belonging to one of the
post-Islam periods? dynasties where one can see the evolution of
architecture in Islamic buildings together with the arts implemented on
them. The sections are as follow:
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The early post-Islam
period:
displaying a map of the Islamic World, stucco works decorating the walls
and mehrabs.
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11th & 12th
centuries:
displaying stucco works, brick works, stone works, brick inscriptions,
glazed bricks and tiles, a wooden fretted door, some well-decorated
mehrabs, as well as a big jar that is luster painted.
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13th & 14th
centuries:
displaying luster painted star tiles, turquoise tiles, indigo-colored leaf
gilded tiles, turquoise-colored leaf gilded tiles, cross-shaped tiles, a
fretted pulpit called menbar in Islamic terms and two beautiful mehrabs,
one in stucco and the other in luster painting art.
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15th to
17th centuries:
displaying mosaic inscriptions, under glaze painted tiles, an inscribed
marble mehrab, a mosaic inscribed mehrab and a wooden fretted work subtly
inscribed with prayers.
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18th & 19th
centuries:
displaying a wooden inlaid and mirror worked door, a wooden inlaid door
and a polychrome mosaic inscription.
Also, there are many
showcases in this hall displaying various works of art including coins of
different eras.
Written By: Rahman
Mehraby |
