Persian Art: The Lost Treasures

Persian Art: The Lost Treasures by Vladimir Lukonin and Anatoli Ivanov presents a 459-page PDF survey of Persian art from antiquity through the 19th century. This digital edition offers instant download and places the full text and references on your preferred reading device.

The book opens with a wide-ranging introduction to the development of Persian art, beginning with the first appearance of Iranian peoples on the Iranian plateau in the 10th-8th centuries BCE. It continues with detailed commentaries on selected works, many drawn from museum collections in the former Soviet Union.

Book Overview

Written by art historians Vladimir Lukonin and Anatoli Ivanov, Persian Art: The Lost Treasures explores the coherence and continuity of Persian visual culture across millennia. The authors use objects as historical sources and focus on works produced within present-day Iran. The result is a study that connects art to the ideological, political, and economic history of the region.

What You’ll Discover Inside

• An introduction covering Persian art from the arrival of Iranian tribes in the 10th-8th centuries BCE to the 19th century CE.
• Detailed commentaries with dates, iconography, provenance, and techniques for selected artworks.
• Examples from museums of the former Soviet Union, some reproduced and discussed for the first time.
• Discussion of prestigious court art and traded handicrafts as distinct but connected categories.
• References to archaeological evidence, including Iron Age pottery, burial customs, and settlement patterns.
• Illustration references such as the Rustam miniature from Firdausi’s Shahnameh and Persian carpet details.

Why This Book Matters

Persian art remains an essential field for understanding Iran’s cultural and political history. Lukonin and Ivanov argue that Persian art stayed coherent and traditional through cycles of ascendancy and decline, despite invasions and ideological shifts. Their approach makes the volume valuable for historians, art lovers, and students of the Middle East.

Book Details

Device Compatibility

This is a digital download and no physical item will be shipped. After purchase, you can access the PDF through compatible reading apps on desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. It works with appropriate Kindle apps and other PDF readers.

FAQ

How do I access the book after purchase? Instant access is provided as a digital download. You can save the PDF to your device and open it with your preferred reading app.

Will a physical copy be shipped? No. This is a digital edition only, and there is no physical shipping.

Which devices are compatible? The PDF works with desktops, tablets, phones, and reading apps that support PDF files, including Kindle apps.

Download Persian Art: The Lost Treasures today and explore a rich visual tradition that spans more than two and a half millennia.

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