For centuries people living in Iran have produced objects and images which use written words or ‘calligraphy’ in a beautiful way. Iranian artists still use historic forms, shapes and colours to express new ideas about modern life.
Members of the Iranian Community Centre and young Iranians studying in Brighton shared their knowledge of objects in the museum and helped us make some new acquisitions.
You can listen to some of them talking about two of our objects.
Mr Shapouri demonstrating calligraphy at Brighton Museum, September 2011
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About 70% of Iran’s population are under 30 years old.
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Iran is one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations with settlements dating back to 4000BC.
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The earliest known windmills were built in Persia 2,800 years ago. Some are still operating today.
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Iran is the world’s largest producer of handmade carpets and makes three quarters of the world’s total output.
- The word for tile in Farsi is kashi, from the name of the town Kashan. It was the centre for tile production in the 13th and 14th centuries.
Listen to Neda talk about the pen box, made in Iran in the 1800s.
Listen to Sara and Pezhman talk about the painting by Golnaz Fathi, created in Iran in 2010