The hidden life of a harem: the mustachioed wives of Iranian photographer Shah

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

"If I were a sultan." I would have had many wives. Only the expectation and reality in the Shah's harem are different, as on demotivators on the Internet: instead of slender young beauties, there is an abundance of elderly fat women with mustaches.

Now let's turn over the known facts about harems a little. When I saw these photos, which have recently become public, I wondered how much society’s demands for the ideals of a woman’s appearance are changing. Indeed, in fact, kings and kings were the standards by which they were equal in society. At least know. And it would be okay to have a harem, everyone has already seen them. But everything is not so simple here. Let's start with how the female half of the house of a wealthy Iranian shah dressed.

Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar (from Azerbaijani Nəsrəddin şah Qacar) is the fourth Iranian shah. He has ruled since 1848. He ruled Iran for more than forty-seven years. Incidentally, one of the longest, in the entire history of Iran in 3000 years. It is known that he was a fairly well educated person. He was known and disliked for his indolence and being spoiled by luxury. Well, that's why he is a check.

So what is it about this harem, you ask? Let's start with the fact that the shah was fond of photography. And if not his hobby, then no one would have seen how his concubines lived.

His childhood hobby, photography, turned into a serious hobby as soon as he grew up. A special photo studio was built in the palace. And in 1870 an atelier was opened under the guidance of a Russian photographer - Anton Sevryugin. it was located in the city of Tehran. Subsequently, he became the official very famous wedding photographer at the court of the Shah. He was commissioned to chronicle Iran in photography. For this activity he received awards.

Sevryugin could film not only the ruler, but also his relatives (only men) and servants. But Vladyka decided to shoot his numerous wives on his own. The annals indicate their number - about 100.

The ruler himself printed the photographs in the darkroom at the court. Special albums kept the works of the Iranian creator. Now there is a museum in the Golestan palace.

The concubine Anis al-Doleh is sitting.

The unusualness of his photograph is that at that time it was impossible to photograph a person's face, and it was terribly forbidden to photograph a woman. Well, as they say - "What is allowed to Jupiter is not allowed to a bull." Shah could photograph anyone and anything. Try to refuse him.

These photos turned everything society knew about the hidden life in the harem. Wives look confident and calm. They quite willingly pose in front of the camera, without being afraid of it.

The photographs show that women with mustaches and bushy eyebrows. For the East, this is a common occurrence. The girls did not starve at all, were not intimidated and did not engage in physical labor. Moreover, they were specially fed a lot and were almost not allowed to walk.

But here's an interesting fact, many wives are depicted in short dresses. This is approximately what ballerinas do in ballet.

In 1873, the Iranian ruler came to St. Petersburg. He was personally invited by Alexander II. Here he saw the ballet. He so fascinated him that he introduced ballet tutus for his wives, in the local - shalitech. True, even in front of the camera, it was decided not to give up the scarves.

A servant puts a hookah on to a man in disguise of the shah named Zainab. Vladyka had a sense of humor. He even dressed up men.

These are the standards of beauty that were in Iran in the 19th century.

UPD: there was a revelation, though without proofs, that this is supposedly a photo of male actors of the first state theater created by order of Shah Nasereddin (a great lover of European culture) at the Dar el-Funun Polytechnic School in 1890, who played satirical plays only for the palace nobility …The organizer of this theater was Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered one of the founders of modern Iranian theater. Since women were forbidden to perform on stage, these roles were played by men. The first women took the stage in Iran in 1917.

And the answer on the other hand, the photo was commented on by a senior researcher at the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, candidate of historical sciences, Boris Vasilievich Dolgov:

“The photos are really women. They are not hermaphrodites and not men, as many today might think. Of course, there were also such inhabitants in harems, but they were kept secret, since the Koran did not welcome these things. As for beauty … As you know, there are no comrades for taste and color. As for vegetation, this is typical for Eastern women. However, it cannot be ruled out that the owner of the harem just liked the "mustachioed" ladies. Loose eyebrows were fashionable at the time, and fullness was synonymous with beauty. The women in the harem were specially fed very densely and were not allowed to actively move."