A lecture by Kathryn Babyan
Associate Professor of Iranian History & Culture, Director Armenian Studies Program
University of Michigan
The City as Anthology will encapsulate the story of Isfahan through private collections assembled in the domestic sphere of urban households. Thousands of anthologies were produced in seventeenth century family libraries, shaping tastes and aesthetics as they participated in the making of a graphic culture. Paintings and drawings were commissioned and purchased; private letters, verses of poetry, and talismans, along with all sorts of fragments were arranged and recorded on paper. This talk will serve as a guide to my reading of these anthologies as an account of households and communities of literacy before print.
Co-sponsored by UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies