Ali Quli Agha, Isfahan, Iran. Hand-colored elevation by Claus Breede, 1976.
The Aga Khan Documentation Center has received the Isfahan Urban History Project archive from the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Canada). The project documents the development of Isfahan, Iran, from the time of the Buyid dynasty (ca. 9th c./4th c. AH).
Undertaken by Dr. Lisa Golombek (Curator Emeritus [Islamic Art] Retired, ROM) and Dr. Renata Holod (Professor, and Curator in the Near East Section, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania), the project spanned the 1970s and investigated the early urban nodes of Isfahan — a city perhaps more known for its monumental architecture and urban planning of the Safavid dynasty (16th-17th c. AD/10th-11th c. AH).
The archive houses slides, negatives, field notes, original drawings, plans, maps, photos, notes, and drafts for the never-published material. The donation will be inventoried, housed in AKDC@MIT, and selections digitized for Archnet. Students, scholars, and researchers are welcome to visit the Center to use the original material.