Princess Ashraf
Photograph
October 1958 (photographed)
October 1958 (photographed)
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Place of origin |
Black and white photograph of the princess, wearing a black belted dress, standing at a window with her hand resting on her pet poodle, beside a photograph of the former Queen Soraya.
Object details
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Object type | |
Title | Princess Ashraf (assigned by artist) |
Materials and techniques | Gelatin-silver print |
Brief description | Black and white photograph of Princess Ashraf of Iran, by Charles Gordian Troeller,Tehran, October 1958. |
Physical description | Black and white photograph of the princess, wearing a black belted dress, standing at a window with her hand resting on her pet poodle, beside a photograph of the former Queen Soraya. |
Dimensions |
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Credit line | Given by John and Juith Hillelson |
Object history | This photograph was donated by John and Judith Hillelson from their collection and archive of the John Hillelson Picture Agency. Historical significance: Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was the last Shah of Iran (reg.1941-79) and Charles Gordian Troeller the first photojournalist permitted to photograph the private reception held each year in celebration of the Shah's birthday. This photograph forms part of a series of 24 photographs taken by Troeller during the festivities for the Shah's 39th birthday in 1958. The series is of historical significance as a pictorial record of a now disposed dynasty. Just 5 years prior to these photographs being taken the Shah was forced to flee Iran due to his country being increasingly dogged by political unrest in the aftermath of WWII. Having been quickly escorted back to power by a joint military operation orchestrated by British and American secret services, five years on, in these photographs, the Shah, his family and their courtiers appear to have survived the worst. Looking at these photographs now, knowing that in 1979 further political unrest would lead to the monarchy's permanent banishment (the Shah died in exile in Egypt in 1980), give these photographs an unsettling quality. The series captures the calm before the real storm. |
Historical context | Princess Ashraf was the Shah's twin sister. Here she stands beside a photograph of Queen Soraya whom the Shah had recetly divorced. Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari (June 22, 1932-October 26, 2001), daughter of Khalil Esfandiary Bakhtiari, Ambassador of Iran to the Federal Republic of Germany, and his German wife, Eva Karl was the Shah's second wife; they were married in 1951 and divorced in 1958 when it became apparent that she could not bear children. (Given the title Princess Soraya of Iran after the divorce, she later became a film actress, appearing the 1965 movie "Three Faces of a Woman," and mistress of its Italian director Franco Indovina, 1932-1972.) |
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Collection | |
Accession number | E.312-2003 |
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Record created | May 10, 2004 |
Record URL |
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