The Pahlavi Crown ( fa, تاج پهلوی) was the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

crown used during the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979). It is held amongst the

Iranian crown jewels The Iranian National Jewels ( fa, جواهرات ملی ایران, ''Javāherāt-e Melli-ye Irān''), originally the Iranian Crown Jewels ( fa, جواهرات سلطنتی ایران, ''Javāherāt-e Saltanati-ye Irān''), include elaborate cro ...

by the current government of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Background

Following the ascension of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925,

Reza Shah , , spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort) Turan Amirsoleimani Esmat Dowlatshahi , issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza P ...

ordered a group of Iranian jewelers, under the supervision of Haj Serajeddin Javaheri, to create a new crown to replace the Kiani Crown, which had been used by the Qajar dynasty. Inspiration for the new design was drawn from paintings and historical references to crowns used during the Sassanid Empire, which had ruled Persia from 224 to 651 AD. The Pahlavi Crown was commissioned and first used for the coronation of

on 25 April 1926.Iran Chamber Society: Iranian Museums & Gallerie
Iranian National Royal Jewels: The Pahlavi Crown
/ref> It was used for the last time during the coronation of his son and successor

Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi ( fa, محمدرضا پهلوی, ; 26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980), also known as Mohammad Reza Shah (), was the last ''Shah'' (King) of the Imperial State of Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow in the Irani ...

on 26 October 1967. The crown is currently on display with the rest of the

Iranian Crown Jewels The Iranian National Jewels ( fa, جواهرات ملی ایران, ''Javāherāt-e Melli-ye Irān''), originally the Iranian Crown Jewels ( fa, جواهرات سلطنتی ایران, ''Javāherāt-e Saltanati-ye Irān''), include elaborate cro ...

at the Treasury of National Jewels in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

. Although the Pahlavi Crown was not assembled until the early 20th century, the stones used in its production, as per tradition, were selected from the thousands of loose stones already in the Iranian Imperial Treasury.

Composition

The frame of the crown is made of gold, silver and red velvet. It has a maximum height of 29.8 cm, a width of 19.8 cm and weighs nearly 2,080 grams. A staggering 3,380 diamonds, totaling , are set into the object. The largest of these is a yellow brilliant diamond which is centrally placed in a sunburst of white diamonds. Found in three rows are 369 nearly identical natural white pearls. The crown also contains five sizable emeralds (''totaling ''), the largest of which is approximately and located on the apex of the crown.

In popular culture

* In Peter O'Donnell's 1981

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents ...

novel ''

The Xanadu Talisman ''The Xanadu Talisman'' is the title of an action-adventure/spy novel by Peter O'Donnell that was first published in 1981, featuring the character Modesty Blaise. This was the tenth book to feature the character. It was first published in the Un ...

'', Modesty and Willie Garvin are pursued by the Moroccan underworld on a quest to recover the Pahlavi Crown.

References

{{Crowns Individual crowns Iranian National Jewels Pahlavi National symbols of Iran Pahlavi dynasty

Background

Composition

In popular culture

See also

References