Reza Abbasi Museum
Inaugurated in 1977 in the capital city of Tehran and run by Iranian Cultural Heritage Organization, the Reza Abbasi museum exhibits collections belonging to various eras ranging from the second millennium BC to the early 20th century corresponding to the end of Qajar period. The museum was named after the famous Safavid-era painter Reza Abbasi.
As the artifacts have been arranged chronologically, visitors can have a glance on the development of art, culture and technology during this span of time, making it unique among other museums in the country in terms of the Iranian Art History.
Having the richest historical and cultural collections makes the museum a small sample of the ancient Iran museum keeping around 50 thousand objects while the halls have the capacity of showcasing just 700 works and the rest are put on display occasionally in the section of temporary exhibitions.
The three-floor building of the museum includes different halls: pre-Islamic arts hall (the third floor), Islamic arts hall (the second floor), the painting hall (the first floor), and the calligraphy and temporary exhibition halls (the ground floor).
The museum exhibits objects and artworks including baked clay, metal and stone objects as well as paintings on canvas and paper, manuscripts and jewelry from pre-Islamic period in addition to pottery and metal objects, textile, lacquer painting, and calligraphy belonging to the Islamic period. The shape and design of objects were inspired by the scenes of animals and environment.
In the calligraphy hall, one can observe magnificent diverse scripts such as Sols, Mohaqeq, and Naskh. The painting hall is a rich treasure of the painting traditions of the Islamic period. Also the library of the museum offers a valuable research source with around 6000 books, mostly composed of Iranian history art, archaeology, and culture.
Furthermore, the museum is equipped with the most advanced conservation department with two laboratories and workshops to preserve painting, metal objects and manuscript books fulfilling its own needs and those of all other museums in the country.
Visiting the museum is truly worthwhile and getting to know with all the ancient objects and artworks can be one of the memorable experiences of all those who value art and culture.
