Anthropology Museum in Tehran

We recently had a short trip to Iran. We will try to present some of the pictures we took during our trip in separate posts on this blog. To that end, lets start with our visit to the Anthropology Museum in Tehran.

In 1935, Reza Shah ordered the creation of Anthropology Museum in Tehran. Upon his order, experts were dispatched to different parts of the country in order to collect items reflecting the various cultures and traditions of the people of Iran. The museum opened its door in 1937 in a building on Bu-Ali Avenue, which is the present-day venue for the Iranian Society of Cultural Works and Luminaries. In 1968, it was transferred to its current location, Abyaz Palace (White Palace) within Golestan Palace Complex. Abyaz Palace was built in the southwest section of Golestan Palace towards the end of the reign of Qajar monarch, Nassereddin Shah. It came to be known as Abyaz Palace because of its white stucco carvings on the facade executed in Europe’s 18th-century style as well as its hall staircase which was made of white streaked marble.

It is truly remarkable how Iran, over its long history, has accommodated vastly different cultures, traditions, and languages within the different parts of the country. And the Anthropology Museum in Tehran is a stupendous display of that by showcasing a comprehensive set of objects highlighting the traditional life and the different cultures at different stages of history in different parts of Iran.

Anthropology Museum happens to be one of only a couple of museums within Golestan Palace Complex where no-flash picture taking is allowed inside. So we used the opportunity and tried to take a few shots. The lighting situation was pretty challenging though given that it was indoors with dim light and almost all items were located behind glass enclosures. So, for most pictures, we had to bump up the ISO to 3200 to get a decent shutter speed for handheld camera. Another typical challenge in these lighting situations is to get the proper white balance. The Auto white balance seemed to do a decent job for most pictures. And given that almost all our shots are taken RAW, we could tweak white balance in post processing, if need be.

Thanks for visiting and hope you enjoy these pictures….