Preparing a large-scale exhibition is a rewarding experience, but one that brings certain frustrations. Topics are chosen and then abandoned, only to be partly reselected as new discoveries are made. The process is one that aims to bring clarity and understanding to the broadest possible audience and, in this case, we were creating an exhibition about a time and a place—the Qajar period in Iran—to which the French audience had had very little previous exposure. The long century of Qajar rule which began with the reign of Aqa Muhammad Khan in 1786 and ended with Ahmad Shah’s deposition in 1925, whose reign ushered in the slow agonising demise of the regime, witnessed many changes, even revolutions. Iran joined the concert of nations against a background of frequently turbulent domestic politics, upheavals caused by the advent of modernity, a growing openness to the outside world and increased interactions with foreign powers. This more global context had a significant impact on artistic production—this was an art stamped with the seal of politics. Studying this period calls into question several widely-held notions about the art of Iran, both in the nineteenth century and in previous centuries.

As the exhibition concept evolved and progressed, more and more objects from the period were discovered in public and private collections and research carried out on the history and nature of these works led to the organisation of a conference to accompany the exhibition. With the intention of expanding the understanding of this relatively unexplored period in Iranian art, and of exploring some of its substantial corpus of as yet unknown artworks, we invited a range of scholars from across the world to carry out research on previously unpublished objects. Given the varied nature of art during the Qajar era, it was crucial to have studies on all kinds of materials, including topics at an early stage of research, such as textiles and ceramics, as well as the history of collections, a prerequisite to understanding the evolving historiography.

This collection of articles is divided into four sections. The first, ‘Transitions and Transmissions’ is dedicated to the arts of painting, illumination and lithography. These art forms, which played a special role at the Qajar court, have long been the focus of art historical interest but there is still much to be revealed. In the four articles in this section the role of all types of painters is examined, as well as the circulation of models throughout Iranian society and beyond. Charlotte Maury and Carol Guillaume introduce a little-known album from the Golestan Palace Library, paying particular attention to the personalities linked to the collection and transmission of the material gathered in the album, as well as to those involved in its preparation, such as the painter Muhammad Baqir. Simon Rettig looks at a previously unpublished manuscript of the Shahnama that was created in the Safavid period in the early seventeenth century. It was illustrated in the first third of the nineteenth century and is an example of the practice of collecting and refurbishing older manuscripts within the broader context of a literary revival known as bāzgasht. Tim Stanley studies the work of the illuminator Razi Taliqani, whose virtuosity was matched only by a desire to revive traditional techniques. Some of his works are in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, underscoring the extent to which the art of nineteenth-century Iran appealed to nineteenth-century Europe. Ali Boozari looks at the role of Mirza Hasan ibn Aqa Sayyid Mirza Isfahani, an illustrator of lithographed books, who drew his inspiration directly from the most prestigious court manuscripts.