Qur'an collections in the early decades of the Iran Bastan Museum

[Museum of Ancient Iran]. Bahrami, Mehdi / Bayani, Mahdi. Rahnama-yi ganjinah-'i Quran dar Muzih-'i Iran-i Bastan.

€ 350.00

A guide to the treasury of Qur'ans in the Museum of Ancient Iran in Tehran, printed in Persian and illustrated with over forty black and white plates from photographs. The plates illustrate the range of time periods, decoration practices, and calligraphic styles represented in the museum's mid-century Qur'an collection. A folding map frontispiece shows a floor plan of the relevant gallery, with arrows helpfully indicating to an interested visitor which way to best take in the exhibits.

The Iran Bastan Museum, also called the Museum of Ancient Iran, falls under the umbrella of the Iran National Museum. However, it is housed in its own specially designed building in Tehran, and was in fact the first structure in Iran purpose-built to act as a museum: its large arched entryway and brickwork are representative of the famous arch of Taq-e Kasra of Ctesiphon and the ancient traditions of Persian brick construction. Today, the Iran Bastan Museum largely houses much earlier relics of Iran's past, such as Neolithic spear points and Sassanian artifacts, with other sites of the Iran National Museum taking up the focus on Muslim-era manuscripts. A scarce piece of literature on Qur'ans in 1940s Iranian museum collections.

Exterior lightly worn, but in good condition. Uncommon.