THE ROYAL LENS

Khosronejad&rsquo,s unique collection provides us with a treasure trove of images focusing on the daily life of Naser al-Din Shah, his wives, concubines, and slaves of both sexes. , ,Janet AfaryMellichamp Professor of Religious StudiesUC Santa Barbara ,Pedram Khosronejad has provided invaluable new information about the history of photography in Iran during the 19th-century Qajar period. In particular he has carefully researched the photographs taken by Naser al-Din Shah, perhaps the Qajar monarch most fascinated by Western technology. These intimate photographs of his own harem are unique and highly informative, not just for their intrinsic value in a period in which human images were disapproved of, but also for what they reveal about Naser al-Din Shah, his self-image, his household and his court. ,William O. Beeman  , , , Professor, Department of Anthropology  , , , , , , University of Minnesota ,_,