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266 Handwritten Glass Negative Identifications, on Slips of Paper

Creator:
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Names:
Islamic Archives  Search this
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Collection Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Notes (266 leaves), various small dimensions)
Type:
Archival materials
Notes
Studio portraits
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
1944
Scope and Contents:
- Information from Archives staff reads, "266 handwritten identifications on slips of paper (from a 1943-1944 cash book, produced by the Bathni Brothers, Tehran)."
- Additional information from initial Sevruguin Finding Aid reads, "Handwritten identifications recorded on scraps of paper were housed with nearly 300 photonegatives in this collection."
Arrangement:
According to past F/S Archives staff, . Today they are housed in archival document boxes, essentially duplicating the original arrangement, and stored on shelves. This glass negative was included into "Box 61."
Biographical / Historical:
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, leaving behind only a fraction of his large collection of glass negatives, which is currently in the Archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.04 2.12.GN.Identifications
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Archives staff.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Notes
Studio portraits
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
Identifier:
FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.04 2.12.GN.Identifications
See more items in:
Myron Bement Smith Collection
Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.12: Antoin Sevruguin Photographs / 2.12.01: Glass Plate Negatives
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc36cb449d2-f678-4f44-9dd3-4859d310fefd
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-fsa-a-04-ref10615

Committee for Islamic Culture: Minutes of Fifth Meeting

Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Names:
Islamic Archives  Search this
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Collection Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Notes (14 leaves), 21.7 cm. x 28 cm)
Type:
Archival materials
Notes
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
bulk November 17, 1952
1952
Scope and Contents:
The Islamic Archives, known formally as The Archive for Islamic Culture and Art, was an outgrowth of Myron Bement Smith's (MBS) belief that photography is an important research tool for the study of architecture. He relied on photography for his research in Italy in the 1920s and again in Iran in the 1930s. He called his personal collection of photographs, architectural sketches and materials on Iran and other Islamic countries his Islamic archives. He wanted to expand it by soliciting written and photographic material from other scholars, travellers and photographers. In 1941 the Committee on Arabic and Islamic Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) adopted Smith's idea as an official activity. It was formally titled The Archive for Islamic Culture and Art, but generally referred to by MBS and others as the Islamic Archives. It remained largely a personal activity of MBS and was housed at the Library of Congress where he served as a consultant. In 1949 he drafted formal articles of association creating the Committee for Islamic Culture to plan and operate the Islamic Archives and to administer a {dollar}9,000 gift that Dr. James R. Jewett of Harvard University had given to the ACLS to fund its development. Although the Committee met occasionally, MBS remained the driving force for the Islamic Archives. It was a personal passion and the focus of his professional life; he continued adding materials until his death in 1970.
According to the official minute, the committee for Islamic Culture reported the following purchase, "369,13x18cm. glass negatives; 285, 18x24cm. glass negatives; 42, 9x12cm. glass negatives, forming the Antoine Sevruguin collection, made in Persia while he was court photographer to Nasr ed-Din Shah and the succeeding Kajar rulers and including the period of the dictatorship of Riza Khan up to his coronation (1926), acquired by purchase from the American (Presbyterian) Mission, Tehran, who had them by gift from the heiress of Sevruguin, at a cost of {dollar}200.00, the packing and transport by courtesy of Professor T. C. Young."
Arrangement:
The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information, includes information on the history, administration and correspondence related to creation and development of the Islamic Archives and the materials it contains. Myron Bement Smith gave each accession to the Archives an alphanumeric identifier. The Plain Number Series was apparently assigned to the initial acquisitions. It consists of a number followed by a letter indicating whether the material was a deposit (D), a temporary deposit (TD), a gift (G), a purchase (P) or a copy (C). These designators were used for both photographic and written materials.
Biographical / Historical:
Classical archaeologist, architect, and art historian Myron Bement Smith (1897-1970) had a life-long devotion to West Asia, accumulating some 87,000 items now in the Archives documenting Islamic art and culture from Spain to India, with an emphasis on architecture. Established in 1948 to further an appreciation for Persian art and culture, nearly seventy-five percent of Smith's "Islamic Archives" consists of his own work; the remainder obtained from other sources. One of the most significant portions of the "Islamic Archives" is the photographic material of Antoin Sevruguin, a commercial photographer in Tehran active during the 1870s to 1930. Other materials in the collection include Smith's personal and professional papers including correspondence, research files, writings, and documentation regarding his 1927-1928 Italian and 1933-1937 Iranian expeditions.
Local Numbers:
[Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 2: The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 59; Folder 3]

FSA A.04 2.1.59.AICAminutes5
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Archives staff.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Notes
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
Identifier:
FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.04 2.1.59.AICAminutes5
See more items in:
Myron Bement Smith Collection
Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information / Minutes of the Committee for Islamic Culture
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc3cae82920-ebee-4fb5-ac75-d10003bab5ae
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-fsa-a-04-ref10609

Committee for Islamic Culture: Minutes of Sixth Meeting

Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Names:
Islamic Archives  Search this
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Collection Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Notes (15 leaves), 21.7 cm. x 28 cm)
Type:
Archival materials
Notes
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
bulk October 24, 1953
1953
Scope and Contents:
The Islamic Archives, known formally as The Archive for Islamic Culture and Art, was an outgrowth of Myron Bement Smith's (MBS) belief that photography is an important research tool for the study of architecture. He relied on photography for his research in Italy in the 1920s and again in Iran in the 1930s. He called his personal collection of photographs, architectural sketches and materials on Iran and other Islamic countries his Islamic archives. He wanted to expand it by soliciting written and photographic material from other scholars, travellers and photographers. In 1941 the Committee on Arabic and Islamic Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) adopted Smith's idea as an official activity. It was formally titled The Archive for Islamic Culture and Art, but generally referred to by MBS and others as the Islamic Archives. It remained largely a personal activity of MBS and was housed at the Library of Congress where he served as a consultant. In 1949 he drafted formal articles of association creating the Committee for Islamic Culture to plan and operate the Islamic Archives and to administer a {dollar}9,000 gift that Dr. James R. Jewett of Harvard University had given to the ACLS to fund its development. Although the Committee met occasionally, MBS remained the driving force for the Islamic Archives. It was a personal passion and the focus of his professional life; he continued adding materials until his death in 1970.
According to the official minute, the committee for Islamic Culture reported the following gift, "2, 5" x 7" photoprints and 64, 7" x 9" photoprints, purchased by him in 1928 from Sevruguin, Tehran, of scenes from Persian life, from Mr. Joseph Upton, Department of State, Washington, D.C."
Arrangement:
The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information, includes information on the history, administration and correspondence related to creation and development of the Islamic Archives and the materials it contains. Myron Bement Smith gave each accession to the Archives an alphanumeric identifier. The Plain Number Series was apparently assigned to the initial acquisitions. It consists of a number followed by a letter indicating whether the material was a deposit (D), a temporary deposit (TD), a gift (G), a purchase (P) or a copy (C). These designators were used for both photographic and written materials.
Biographical / Historical:
Classical archaeologist, architect, and art historian Myron Bement Smith (1897-1970) had a life-long devotion to West Asia, accumulating some 87,000 items now in the Archives documenting Islamic art and culture from Spain to India, with an emphasis on architecture. Established in 1948 to further an appreciation for Persian art and culture, nearly seventy-five percent of Smith's "Islamic Archives" consists of his own work; the remainder obtained from other sources. One of the most significant portions of the "Islamic Archives" is the photographic material of Antoin Sevruguin, a commercial photographer in Tehran active during the 1870s to 1930. Other materials in the collection include Smith's personal and professional papers including correspondence, research files, writings, and documentation regarding his 1927-1928 Italian and 1933-1937 Iranian expeditions.
Local Numbers:
[Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 2: The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 59; Folder 3]

FSA A.04 2.1.59.AICAminutes6
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Archives staff.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Notes
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
Identifier:
FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.04 2.1.59.AICAminutes6
See more items in:
Myron Bement Smith Collection
Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information / Minutes of the Committee for Islamic Culture
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc3c83234ab-4cd8-4876-9261-aedf4ad308c7
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-fsa-a-04-ref10610

Committee for Islamic Culture: Minutes of Fourth Meeting

Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Names:
Islamic Archives  Search this
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Collection Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Notes (3 leaves), 21.7 cm. x 28 cm)
Type:
Archival materials
Notes
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
bulk September 15, 1951
1951
Scope and Contents:
The Islamic Archives, known formally as The Archive for Islamic Culture and Art, was an outgrowth of Myron Bement Smith's (MBS) belief that photography is an important research tool for the study of architecture. He relied on photography for his research in Italy in the 1920s and again in Iran in the 1930s. He called his personal collection of photographs, architectural sketches and materials on Iran and other Islamic countries his Islamic archives. He wanted to expand it by soliciting written and photographic material from other scholars, travellers and photographers. In 1941 the Committee on Arabic and Islamic Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) adopted Smith's idea as an official activity. It was formally titled The Archive for Islamic Culture and Art, but generally referred to by MBS and others as the Islamic Archives. It remained largely a personal activity of MBS and was housed at the Library of Congress where he served as a consultant. In 1949 he drafted formal articles of association creating the Committee for Islamic Culture to plan and operate the Islamic Archives and to administer a {dollar}9,000 gift that Dr. James R. Jewett of Harvard University had given to the ACLS to fund its development. Although the Committee met occasionally, MBS remained the driving force for the Islamic Archives. It was a personal passion and the focus of his professional life; he continued adding materials until his death in 1970.
According to the official minute, the committee for Islamic Culture reported the following vote, "That Mr. T. Cuyler Young be and hereby is empowered to purchase for the account of this Association all the remaining Segruvian photographis negatives and their catalog list from the American Presbyterian Mission, tehran, for a sum not to exceed {dollar}200.00, purchase to include any and all rights held by the original or late owners; further, that Mr. Young have the negatives packed and shipped to the Association; further, that the Association reimburse Mr. Young for all proper charges for packing and shipping charges for these negatives." and, "Mr. Young reported that the Segruvian negatives, a famous collection known to all Persian scholars, have been given by Segruvian's heiress to the American (Presbyterian) Mission in tehran with instructions that they be sold for the benefit of the Mission. The Chairman had seen part of these negatives in 1934 and had ordered prints from them. Segruvian was court photographer to Nasr al-Din Shah and his immediate successors; he accompanied the Shah on his royal progresses and recorded personages, monuments, costumes, types and manners. Prints from these negatives have been used to illustrate numerous books and articles; they form a precious record of a fast-disappearing way of life. Mr. Young said that the price asked is {dollar}200.00, which includes all the negatives on hand plus a catalog list."
Arrangement:
The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information, includes information on the history, administration and correspondence related to creation and development of the Islamic Archives and the materials it contains. Myron Bement Smith gave each accession to the Archives an alphanumeric identifier. The Plain Number Series was apparently assigned to the initial acquisitions. It consists of a number followed by a letter indicating whether the material was a deposit (D), a temporary deposit (TD), a gift (G), a purchase (P) or a copy (C). These designators were used for both photographic and written materials.
Biographical / Historical:
Classical archaeologist, architect, and art historian Myron Bement Smith (1897-1970) had a life-long devotion to West Asia, accumulating some 87,000 items now in the Archives documenting Islamic art and culture from Spain to India, with an emphasis on architecture. Established in 1948 to further an appreciation for Persian art and culture, nearly seventy-five percent of Smith's "Islamic Archives" consists of his own work; the remainder obtained from other sources. One of the most significant portions of the "Islamic Archives" is the photographic material of Antoin Sevruguin, a commercial photographer in Tehran active during the 1870s to 1930. Other materials in the collection include Smith's personal and professional papers including correspondence, research files, writings, and documentation regarding his 1927-1928 Italian and 1933-1937 Iranian expeditions.
Local Numbers:
[Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 2: The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 59; Folder 3]

FSA A.04 2.1.59.AICAminutes4
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Archives staff.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Notes
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
Identifier:
FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.04 2.1.59.AICAminutes4
See more items in:
Myron Bement Smith Collection
Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information / Minutes of the Committee for Islamic Culture
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc3e871ad8c-715f-43b4-b370-9dfebe1f5e0a
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-fsa-a-04-ref10611

47 P Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran

Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Names:
Islamic Archives  Search this
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Collection Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Notes (20 leaves), 21.7 cm. x 28 cm)
Container:
Box 60, Folder 44
Type:
Archival materials
Notes
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
1950s
Scope and Contents:
Myron Bement Smith's List of 696 Sevruguin Glass Plate Negatives: from Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 2: The Islamic Archives [graphic]
Arrangement:
According to Myron B. Smith handwritten document (Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44: 47 P Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran), Antoin Sevruguin's 696 glass negatives, at the time of their acquisition, were arranged into 61 boxes without any apparent organization. Today they are housed in archival document boxes, essentially duplicating the original arrangement, and stored on shelves. This glass negative was not included into any of the original boxes.
Biographical / Historical:
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, leaving behind only a fraction of his large collection of glass negatives, which is currently in the Archives of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.
Local Numbers:
[Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 2: The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 60; Folder 44; 47P]

FSA A.04 2.1.60.47P
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Archives staff.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Notes
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
Identifier:
FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.04 2.1.60.47P
See more items in:
Myron Bement Smith Collection
Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc37205a629-20a2-458c-b2dc-ad0dcbd48a47
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-fsa-a-04-ref7491

58 G Joseph Upton, Antoine Sevruguin photographs, Iran

Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Names:
Islamic Archives  Search this
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Collection Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Notes (2 leaves), 21.7 cm. x 28 cm)
Container:
Box 61, Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
Notes
Place:
Asia
Iran
Date:
1928-1953
Scope and Contents:
Joseph Upton's List of 66 Sevruguin Gelatin Silver Prints: from Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 2: The Islamic Archives [graphic]
Arrangement:
According to Joseph Upton handwritten document (Myron Bement Smith Collection, Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 61; Folder 5: 58G Antoine Sevruguin, glass negatives, Iran), Antoin Sevruguin's 66 gelatin silver prints are arranged in sequential number following Joseph Upton's handwritten list of captions.
Biographical / Historical:
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.
Local Numbers:
[Myron Bement Smith Collection; Series 2: The Islamic Archives; Subseries 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information; Box 61; Folder 5; 58G]

FSA A.04 2.1.61.58G
General:
Title and summary note are provided by Archives staff.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Genre/Form:
Notes
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
Identifier:
FSA.A.04, Item FSA A.04 2.1.61.58G
See more items in:
Myron Bement Smith Collection
Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives / 2.1: Islamic Archives History, Collection Information
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc3deac7f27-7439-4505-8b81-4f1cca85a2d0
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-fsa-a-04-ref7496

Antoin Sevruguin Photographs

Topic:
Early Photography of Iran
Collector:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Photographer:
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Names:
Islamic Archives  Search this
Muzaffar al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1853-1907  Search this
Nāsir al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1831-1896  Search this
Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, 1878-1944  Search this
Sevruguin, Antoin, 1851-1933  Search this
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Collection Creator:
Smith, Myron Bement, 1897-1970  Search this
Extent:
66 Photographic prints (various dimensions)
695 Glass negatives (b&w, 13 cm. x 18 cm)
98 Photographic prints (various dimensions)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographic prints
Glass negatives
Gelatin silver prints
Place:
Asia
Iran
Iraq
India
Uzbekistan
Baghdad (Iraq)
Basṭām (Iran)
Bīshāpūr (Extinct city)
Dāmghān (Iran)
Delhi (India)
Fīrūzābād (Iran)
Hamadān (Iran)
Iṣfahān (Iran)
Naqsh-i Rustam (Iran)
Pasargadae (Extinct city)
Persepolis (Iran)
Taq-e Bostan Site (Iran)
Tehran (Iran)
Date:
1880s-1933
Scope and Contents:
Antoin Sevruguin operated a successful commercial photography studio in Tehran and was a court photographer to Nasr ed-Din Shah and succeeding Qajar rulers. Sevruguin's daughter and heir donated his glass negatives to the American Presbyterian Mission in Tehran. The Committee for Islamic Culture, which administered the Islamic Archives, purchased 695 negatives from the Presbyterian Mission in 1951. The collection also includes 164 silver gelatin prints, 98 acquired by Myron Bement Smith(MBS) in 1934 and 66 donated by Joseph Upton in 1953. The glass negatives are numbered but without apparent organization. MBS organized his photoprints into subject categories. Upton's photoprints are numbered according to a handwritten caption list. [Located Bay 7] For specific information on items in the collection search Sevruguin on the Smithsonian Collections Search Center web site http://collections.si.edu .
- 66 black-and-white gelatin silver photoprints, unmounted, were a gift from Joseph Upton, received by the committee for Islamic Culture, as reported in their official minutes of October 24, 1953. The 66 photoprints were initially purchased by Joseph Upton in 1928 from Antoin Sevruguin in Tehran.
- 695 glass negatives were included into the "Islamic Archives," which was administered jontly by the committee for Islamic Culture and the committee for Arabic and Islamic Studies of the American Council of Learned Societies. According to the official minutes, the committee for Islamic Culture reported purchasing the 696 glass plates during their fiscal years 1951-1952 from the American Presbyterian Mission in Tehran. Antoin Sevruguin's daughter gave these plates to the mission with instruction that they be sold for the benefit of the mission.
- 98 gelatin silver photoprints were collected by Myron Bement Smith after he viewed a portion of Sevruguin's negatives in 1934 ( these include recent finds in the Myron Bement Smith collection).
In addition of Antoin Sevruguin's 695 glass negatives and 164 silver gelatin prints in the Myron Bement Smith collection the Archives holds: 18 albumen prints in theJay Bisno Collection of Sevruguin Photographs (FSA A.15); 34 photographic prints in the Ernst Herzfeld Papers (FSA A.6); as well as a photograph album and individual albumen prints donated by Stephen Arpee (FSA A2011.03). Finally, the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives also own 3 separate gelatin silver prints.
Myron Bement Smith Collection: Antoin Sevruguin Photographs
Arrangement:
- 66 gelatin silver prints are arranged in sequential number following Joseph Upton's handwritten list of captions, and ultimately organized by Myron B. Smith into subject categories (royalty, people, executions, criminals, punishment, architecture).
- 695 glass negatives, numbered, without any apparent organization, are housed in document boxes and stored on shelves.
- 98 gelatin silver prints are organized by Myron B. Smith into subject categories (people, architecture, royalty, landscape).
Biographical / Historical:
Antoin Sevruguin managed and operated one of the most successful commercial photography studios in Tehran in the late 19th century. Born in the 1840s in Iran, Sevruguin's mother returned with her children to her hometown of Tbilisi after his father Vassil, a Russian diplomat in Iran, died in a horse riding accident. Trained as a painter, Sevruguin returned to Iran in the early 1870s accompanied by his two brothers, establishing a photography studio first in Tabriz and then Tehran. His studio's ties to Tbilisi, however, persisted through the years; many of the early portraits of Dervishes and women have been simultaneously attributed to Antoin Sevruguin and Dimitri Yermakov, the Georgian photographer who is often referred to as Sevruguin's mentor from Tbilisi. Many of Antoin Sevruguin's photographs were published as early as 1885 in travelogues, journals and books indicating that by that time he had a fully established practice in Tehran's Ala al-Dawla street, with ties to the court of Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar. Often unacknowledged as the producer of published images in his own time - the 1902 photographic survey of Persepolis being the most glaring of such authorial misrepresentations - he was nevertheless celebrated and acknowledged for his artistic vision and his keen eye for composition, achieving the Medal of Lion and Sun from Nasir al-Din Shah, the 1897 Medal of Honour in the Brussels International Exposition, and the 1900 Medal of Honour in Paris International Exposition. Reflecting a career that spans nearly half a century, Sevruguin's diverse body of work includes studio portraits of families, women and dervishes, survey photographs of archeological sites, objects, landscapes and architecture, and photographs of royalty, high officials and ceremonies of the Qajar court. The range of his output not only demonstrates his own pictorial concerns and artistic abilities but also the divergent interests of his clients. Despite numerous devastating incidents throughout his career - the loss of more than half of his negatives in a 1908 blast and fire, an unsuccessful attempt at diversifying into cinematography in the 1910s, and the confiscation of the remainder of his negatives in the mid-1920s to name a few - his studio remained operational even after his death in 1933. A number of negatives from the Sevruguin studio can be dated to the years after Antoin's death, indicating that the Sevruguin studio continued to be commercially viable. As one of the most prolific early commercial photographers in Iran, Antoin Sevruguin's artistic legacy has since proved far more enduring.
Local Numbers:
FSA A.04 2.12
General:
Titles and summary notes are provided by Shabnam Rahimi-Golkhandan, FSg curatorial research specialist.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Topic:
Abbasids  Search this
Ancient Near Eastern Art  Search this
Antiquities  Search this
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Genre/Form:
Photographic prints
Glass negatives
Gelatin silver prints
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
Identifier:
FSA.A.04, Subseries 2.12
See more items in:
Myron Bement Smith Collection
Myron Bement Smith Collection / Series 2: The Islamic Archives
Archival Repository:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc3663a9188-da2c-4fec-a971-3e726a7f8cdf
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-fsa-a-04-ref9047

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