[Tomb of Seeh-i Mumin] 1840 - 1869

Curator: The sepia tones give this photograph, "[Tomb of Seeh-i Mumin]", such a haunted quality. It dates from between 1840 and 1869 and depicts a ruined brick building under a massive dome. You can find this work here at The Met. What’s your initial reaction? Editor: Eerie, definitely. There’s such a weight to it. All that weathered brick, like it's breathing the sighs of centuries. I keep wanting to know what tales those walls could tell, if only they could whisper. It's as if time itself has taken a bite out of its grandeur. Curator: The tomb's decaying state speaks volumes about the passage of time and the impermanence of even the most monumental structures. Architecturally, we see a beautiful melding of geometric forms, and that imposing dome looms large. Do you notice the figures standing within the arched doorway? Editor: I do now. They seem so small against the vastness of it all, don't they? Like tiny narrators inserted to remind us how massive, in all senses of the word, that space must feel. Also, there is a fascinating stillness of those human elements juxtaposed against such evident decay around them. What were the lives like of those within that space? Curator: They bring a human element, certainly. That very contrast might invite contemplation of mortality and legacy – potent themes within Islamic art and architecture, wouldn’t you agree? We’re encountering cultural memory solidified, and slowly dissolving, into landscape. Editor: Absolutely. It also strikes me as quite sad, in a strange way, though. The beauty of its past, its careful structure, the devotion to craft… and then to see it humbled like this. Still majestic, but tinged with such vulnerability. Curator: Perhaps that inherent tension is what holds our attention; what invites reflection. Editor: Well, it got me reflecting, that’s for sure. Now I just want to grab my own camera and see if I can evoke some of that mystery myself. Thanks for walking me through the emotional depths of old brick.