Nasseredin Shah & His 84 Wives

In 1842 the 11 year-old heir to the Persian throne, Nasseredin Mirza, received a photographic camera from Queen Victoria of England. In the following decades he documented his life: his many wives, his jesters and clowns, his glorious palaces, and his jewels and treasures. As such he revealed to the public eye, what the public eye never was supposed to see.

Through animated sequences and photos taken by Nasseredin Shah and his court, the film depicts the rivalry and intrigues within the harem, the corruption, the secret murders, the political power struggle, the Shah's obsession with a beautiful calico cat, as well as Persia's troubled relation to Europe.

A film by Beach Petersen 

Related Link:  QAJAR PHOTO ALBUM

Via Tehran Bureau