Gezicht op gebouw [moskee?], "La Route de Kaznin/Kazrin"[?], Iran c. 1885 - 1910

This vintage photograph titled, "Gezicht op gebouw [moskee?], 'La Route de Kaznin/Kazrin'[?], Iran" was taken by Antoine Sevruguin sometime between 1870 and 1930. Sevruguin, of Armenian, Georgian, and Russian descent, ran a commercial photography studio in Tehran, Iran. His mixed heritage provided him unique access to various levels of Iranian society and culture. His photographs captured a wide array of subjects, from Iranian royalty and elites, to working-class individuals and religious ceremonies. This particular image presents what is possibly a mosque on the road to Kazrin. The architecture has a stately but weather-worn feel. Note the figures standing within the arched corridors. These photographs offered Europeans glimpses into a world that was largely unfamiliar to them, even while helping Iranians develop a modern sense of their own cultural and national identity. Consider how photography, at this time, became a tool for constructing and disseminating images of the 'Orient'.