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The royal jewels of the Pahlavi and Qajar dynasties are held in The Treasury of National Jewels in Tehran. It is highly secured and no photography is permitted, but purchased and public domain photos are included here in order to share a rare view of these breathtaking pieces.
The video-add feature refused to upload a montage I created of the jewels and crowns through their history of being worn - please see a 2-minute video at Youtube here:
The "museum" is located behind thick steel doors, and entered via carefully guarded and escorted tours. Even an accidental brush against a thick case causes an alarm to be set off. The jewels contained there are legendary; the value of the pieces combined can hardly be estimated - and this is curiously not mentioned. One is under the impression that the value is beyond count, and for their artistic and cultural significance, they are quintessentially priceless.
The coronation crowns of the Emperor and Empress Mohammed Reza and Farah Pahlavi (the Shah and Shabanou) are housed here. The coronation occured in 1967, many years after the King's rule began. As I read in Farah Pahlavi's book, "An Enduring Love", the
Shah delayed the coronation until he had achieved certain accomplishments for Iran apparently wishing to earn for himself the privilege of the coronation. He crowned his wife Queen - Shabanou in Persian - as well partly to advance the status of women which was important to him. During his reign, there was a prohibition on women's veils and subjugations. The Shah's crown was previously worn by his own father, Reza Shah the First. The Empress Farah Pahlavi's crown was made in Iran by Van Cleef and Arpels, who flew in to perform the work there. The jewels themselves were and are national property, so they never leave Iran.
The Darya-e-Noor, or "Ocean of Light" diamond is found here. It is the largest pink diamond in the world, estimated at 186 carats. It is also believed that a second pink diamond in the treasury weighing 60 carats was once part of a larger diamond that was cut into two pieces to make the Darya-e-Noor. The jewel is so stunning it seems to have a presence and life of its own, glowing in a radiant blush of warm color. The Darya-e-Noor is one of the world's most precious and largest diamonds,
among the others is another Persian diamond called the Koh-e-Noor, the Mountain of Light. This other diamond is indeed one that left the country. The Koh-e-Noor left Iran in the only possible manner it could be: as a gift. In fact, for many centuries the breathtaking white diamond left Iran as a gift to its friend, India - and returned as a gift. It was in India's possession when a British coup was successfully executed, and the British royals specifically claimed rights to the precious Koh-e-Noor. The Indian ruler at the time denied that claim, citing the centuries in which it had passed between countries only as a gift, and saying that it would tarnish the diamond's inner beauty to be confiscated. In a letter so stating, he offered it as a gift to the royals of Great Britain. The Iranian jewel now is the glory of the British Queen Mother's Crown. Pictures of the Queen Mother's Crown often have a caption saying, "it was a gift from India", which tell only part of the story - and not the most important part - of how the Persian Koh-e-Noor left its country and came to be set into the revered
and honored crown. One might wonder from whence such an exotic name came to a so-called "English" royal diamond.
One extraordinary attraction is a breathaking globe of emeralds, rubies and diamonds. It is made of 35-kg of pure gold and 51,366 separate jewels. The Shah Nasir Al Din, a King of the Qajar Dynasty, ordered it made during his reign. The sea is depicted in great green emeralds, earth in red rubies and white diamonds. Iran and England are displayed with white diamonds, as they maintained a longstanding friendship at that time. It is therefore more than a bit ironic that it was under hostile circumstances that England took one of the greatest diamonds of Iran and set it to its own royal crown. The globe is forty-four inches high.
In a separate room can be found the golden Sun Throne of Iran, which has existed for four centuries. A glorious medallion of the sun was fashioned at the top. Many other medallions rendered with sun-like rays cannot be detected in a photograph. In person, however, it is clear that these enormous jewels were at some time torn from the throne. In 1979, during the horrific revolution, thieves
ripped the sun medallions from the throne, housed in Golestan palace, in a savage sign of disrespect toward the centuries of great culture they inherited through their royals. In 1980, the throne was removed from Golestan palace and brought to the treasury safes. It was orignially made during the reign of of Fath Ali Shah. For a time it was known as Peacock Throne, after the wife of Fath Ali Shah, whose name, Tavous, meant "peacock" in Persian.
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gautam
non-member comment
awesome
just beautiful....amazing