Iran

Eras

• Ancient Objects, What survives of Elam and early Iran in the museums: Luristan bronzes, stamp seals, chariot fittings, painted pottery and sword blades, from the fourth millennium BC.
• Persepolis, The Achaemenid capital and the great rock sites: Persepolis itself, Pasargadae, Naqsh-e Rostam and the Behistun inscription of Darius.
• Sasanian Silver, Parthian and Sasanian metalwork and vessels. Silver plates, animal-headed rhytons, ewers and incense burners from the empire that faced Rome.
• Miniatures, Persian painting and the illustrated book. Shahnameh and Khamsa folios, album pages, and the calligraphy the paintings were made to accompany.
• Early Silks, Sasanian and post-Sasanian woven silk. Roundels, mounted riders, confronted birds and pearl medallions, a design language that travelled the length of the Silk Road.
• Small Objects, Figurines, spindle whorls, buttons, seals and the ordinary things that survive when nothing else does.
• Metalwork, Inlaid brass and bronze, engraved copper, astrolabes, arms and armour.
• Ceramics, Lustreware, minai and blue-and-white, the potteries of Kashan and Nishapur, and architectural tilework.
• Textiles, Velvets, brocades, embroidery and termeh, and the garments made from them.
• Carpets, The Persian carpet, on the loom and in the collections. Medallion carpets, prayer rugs, kilims and the knotting, dyeing and washing that make them.
• Islamic Persia, From the Arab conquest through the Samanids, Seljuks, the Mongol invasion and Timur to the Safavids and Qajars.
• Architecture, Naqsh-e Jahan and the Isfahan mosques, the windcatchers of Yazd, caravanserais, bridges, bazaars and the palaces of Tehran.
• Zoroastrians, Fire temples, the towers of silence, the priests and the surviving community at Yazd. Note the dating of Zoroaster himself is contested by centuries.
• Qajar Photographs, Nineteenth-century Persia through the camera: Antoin Sevruguin, the Golestan Palace royal albums and the European photographers who followed the roads.
• Nomads, The Qashqai and Bakhtiari migrations, the black tents, the flocks and the passes, including the 1925 film Grass.
• Constitutional Revolution, The Mashrutiyat of 1905 to 1911: the bazaar closures, the first Majlis, the bombardment of parliament and the Tabriz resistance of Sattar Khan.
• Ancient Persia, The Achaemenids, Alexander, the Parthians and the Sasanians, told in documentary and lecture.
• Daily Life, Ordinary life on film, from the earliest surviving footage of Mashhad and Tehran to the present day.
• Classical Music, The radif and the dastgah system, and the singers and players who carry it. Shajarian, Nazeri, Parisa, Alizadeh, Kalhor and Meshkatian.
• Mossadegh and the Coup, Oil nationalisation, Mossadegh's premiership and the 1953 coup. The CIA has since acknowledged its role; parts of the account remain contested.
• Pop, The Tehran pop era and what followed it. Googoosh, Dariush, Ebi, Hayedeh and Vigen, and the modern and diaspora pop that grew out of them.
• Cities and Regions, Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Yazd and Mashhad, the Caspian provinces, Khuzestan, Baluchestan and the Gulf coast.
• Cinema, The Iranian New Wave and after: Kiarostami, Farhadi, Panahi, Beyzai, Mehrjui and Bani-Etemad, with the festivals and the censorship reported as fact.
• The Shah, The Pahlavi era as lived and as governed, including the White Revolution and the 1971 celebration at Persepolis.
• Instruments, The tar, setar, santur, ney, kamancheh, tombak and daf, played and explained.
• Nowruz, The new year and the festival calendar: haft-sin, Chaharshanbe Suri, Sizdah Bedar, Yalda and Mehregan. Nowruz is kept across thirteen nations, not Iran alone.
• Regional Music, The music of Iran's peoples: Azeri ashiq, Kurdish, Baloch, Bakhtiari, Lori, Gilaki, Turkmen dotar and the bakhshis of Khorasan.
• Revolution of 1979, From the Qom protests through Black Friday and the strikes to the Shah's departure, Khomeini's return, the referendum and the embassy seizure.
• Iran-Iraq War, The war of 1980 to 1988 and its cost, in period footage and in the museums and cemeteries that hold its memory.
• Modern Iran, The reform years, the Green Movement of 2009, Woman Life Freedom in 2022, the nuclear question, and the war and protests of 2025 and 2026.
• Underground, Persian rap and independent music made under restriction, at home and in exile.
• Devotional Music, Sufi ceremony, tazieh passion plays, naqqali storytelling and the drum of the zurkhaneh.
• Mosques and Shrines, The Friday mosques, the shrines at Mashhad and Qom, Ashura and Muharram, and the Shia practice that became the state religion under the Safavids.
• Gardens and Qanats, The chahar bagh and the water that makes it possible. Persian gardens, qanats, ab anbars and the ice houses of the desert.
• Crafts, Artisans at work: khatam marquetry, qalamzani engraving, turquoise, glass, tilework and the coppersmiths of the bazaar.
• Minorities, Armenian Christians and the churches of New Julfa, one of the oldest Jewish diasporas in the world, Baha'is, Mandaeans and Yarsanis.
• Food, Working kitchens and bakery ovens: chelo kabab, ghormeh sabzi, fesenjan, tahdig, ash reshteh, sangak and the tea house.