Dasht-i Lar Region, Mount Damavand in Background: Shah's Escort Regiment

- On recto of the print, faded handwritten number (inked, probably by Antoin Sevruguin) reads, "909."

Antoin Sevruguin is one of the early pioneers of commercial photography in Iran. He arrived in Iran from Tbilisi, Georgia in the mid 1870s to set up shop in Ala al-Dawla street in Tehran. From the early days, Sevruguin's studio was trusted both by the Qajar court and by foreign visitors to Iran. Highly regarded for their artistic ingenuity outside Iran, Sevruguin's photographs of 'ethnic types,' architecture and landscape, and depictions of daily life of Tehran found their way into foreign travelogues, magazines and books. As such, he stands alone in a relatively large group of early Iranian photographers for being recognized and celebrated outside the boundaries of the country. Antoin Sevruguin passed away in 1933, although his family studio continued for some time as a commercial enterprise.

FSA A2012.02

Title and summary note are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.

Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933

Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933

Asia

Iran

Early Photography of Iran

Military

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gelatin silver prints

Photographic prints

Myron Bement Smith Collection: Antoin Sevruguin Photographs. FSA.A2012.02. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith, 1973-1985.

Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Glass negative numbered FSA A.4 2.12.GN.52.11; available in Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.12: Antoin Sevruguin Photographs

Gelatin silver prints

Photographic prints

Collection is open for research.