Epic Iran

21 May 2021

Horoscope of Iskandar Sultan, 1411. Courtesy Wellcome Collection Horoscope of Iskandar Sultan (detail; 1411). Courtesy Wellcome Collection

This sweeping display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (29 May–12 September) spans some 5,000 years of Iranian civilisation. More than 300 objects are on display from every period of Iranian history, ranging from Achaemenid reliefs to medieval manuscripts, Safavid textiles and ceramics, Qajar paintings and work by contemporary artists such as Parviz Tanavoli and Shirin Neshat. Find out more from the V&A’s website – and read Matthew P. Canepa on the Sasanian dynasty, from the February 2021 issue of Apollo, here.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Qaran Unhorses Barman, a folio from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (c. 1523–35). Photo: © The Sarikhani Collection

Qaran Unhorses Barman, a folio from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (c. 1523–35). Photo: © The Sarikhani Collection

Turbulent (1998), Shirin Neshat.

Turbulent (1998), Shirin Neshat. Courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels

Group of two figures (1500–1100 BC), Iran. Photo © The Sarikhani Collection

Group of two figures (1500–1100 BC), Iran. Photo © The Sarikhani Collection

Horoscope of Iskandar Sultan (1411). Courtesy Wellcome Collection

Horoscope of Iskandar Sultan (1411). Courtesy Wellcome Collection