Of whim and grandeur: Naser al-Din Shah and the Museum

Abstract

Persian borrowed the term musée from French during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah (1831–96), the fourth king of the Qajar dynasty (1789–1925). Impressed by the European museums during his travels, he established the Royal Museum and another one that focused on natural history in Tehran. Although neither of these two museums was public and they hardly served purposes such as research, their foundation may be taken as the beginning of “museology” and “museography” in Iran. In this study, I first give a brief history of collecting practice before the Qajar period. Then, I investigate Naser al-Din Shah’s travelogues to highlight which museums he visited in Europe. The Shah’s extent of museums’ activities and their various potential roles are pointed out. Finally, I draw upon a few Iranian and non-Iranian sources to clarify how the Royal Museum in the Golestan Palace was formed and what its collection included.