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General
With an area of more
than 110 hectares, there lays Sa?ad Abad complex at the foot of the Alborz
ranges, north of Tehran, situated to the west of Golab Dareh and east of
Velenjak quarters.
It was first the
summer residence of Qajar kings, and then turned into Reza Shah?s summer
residence following expansion and annexation of some other quarters.
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On various
occasions, villa-palaces and mansions were erected on the beautiful range
among aged cypresses and aspens, in almost the vicinity of the remnants of
aged and weather beaten Qajar mansions the facades of which were
constructed in bricks.
In the course of
time, they numbered 18, each in a different architectural style and
technique. After the Islamic Revolution, palaces were changed into museums
in a suitable way to represent the finest works of art from Iranian and
non-Iranian artists to the large number of visitors.
Today, there are 10
museums open to the public as follow:
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Green palace:
It is the first palace built in the complex during Pahlavi dynasty by
Reza Shah?s order. The building is called green palace because of the
color of its fa?de. The palace is a very nice museum of Persian arts
like mirror marquetry, carpets, and illumination and plaster work. It
was served as Mohammad Reza?s private palace where some private meetings
were held before the Islamic Revolution.
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Nation?s palace:
In two stories, different small and large rooms were served as residence
and office of Reza Shah Pahlavi and his son. Rooms were used as sitting
room, waiting room, reception hall, dinning hall and bedroom. There are
some works of art like figurines and chinaware are kept in showcases.
Furniture, chandeliers and paintings are European made. There are four
big mural painting the subjects of which are Iranian myths.
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Nations? museum:
This collection consists of various works of art purchased from other
countries and represents the civilizations of pre-Islam Iranian,
African, Indian, far east, Eskimos, Mayas and contemporary arts of
Iranian as well as non-Iranian artists.
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Fine arts museum:
The major part of the paintings in this collection are the oil paintings
of Safavid, Afshar, Zand and Qajar periods collected by Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi?s last wife, Farah, from an English collectioner called Harold
Emmer. The paintings have been arranged on 3 floors: 1) First floor,
teahouse painting by contemporary Iranian artists, 2) second floor,
various historical periods paintings mentioned above, and 3) Third
floor, European works presented to Farah or bought by her.
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Behzad museum:
This museum is devoted to the miniatures painted by Hossein Behzad
(1895-1968) who made a revolution in Iranian painting. Studying European
art and being inspired by Kamal-ed-din Behzad and Reza Abbasy, he
introduced a new style of miniature on paper, hard paper or fiberboard.
This style is purely Iranian, but it has kept on with its contemporary
paces and changes of art in universal art schools.
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Abkar museum:
The miniatures in this museum are works of a 20th century
artist called Klara Abkar who had her particular style in painting. Her
source of inspiration was the rich Iranian literature and mysticism. Her
works take the visitors to a world of spirituality and a poem-like or
light-music-like harmony that give everyone?s eyes peace and
tranquility.
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Mir Emad museum:
The main subject of this museum is the most prominent post-Islam Iranian
art namely calligraphy. On paper and parchment, there are plenty of
various calligraphic styles of writing belonging to 10th to
19th centuries. Mir Emad, himself, the most well known 18th
century?s calligrapher, has been introduced by his works. In some cases,
some calligraphy-related arts like illumination, painting, etc are
exhibited.
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Museum of
anthropology:
The lifestyle and customs of Iranians through the history are displayed
from cultural perspective. In a vast area and of two floors, various
objects are exhibited like tools for irrigation, agriculture, husbandry,
fishing and hunting as well as agricultural documents, clothes, lighting
tools and handicrafts.
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Water museum:
This museum in an exhibition of ancient and traditional techniques and
instruments for water supplement and distribution. Various water-related
vernacular structures are introduced like water reservoirs and
traditional icehouses. Some ancient water dams and royal orders
concerning them are presented as well.
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Military museum:
the objects of the museum are displayed on two floors. The military
uniforms of Achaemenians up to the present time are exhibited. The
weaponry on display consists of some unsophisticated ones used in the
ancient times until the firearms period?s. Part of the history of
Iraqi-imposed war against Iran (1980-1988) is also exposed to visitors.
Visiting this
complex of palaces can serve as an introductory step to be familiar with
various historical, cultural and artistic aspects of Iran.
Written By: Rahman
Mehraby |
