The Pahlavi Crown () was the
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
n
coronation
A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...
crown used during the
Imperial State of Iran
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, Emperor, emperor/empress, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
...
(1925–1979). It is held amongst the
Iranian National Jewels
The Iranian National Jewels (, ''Javāherāt-e Melli-ye Irān''), originally the Iranian Crown Jewels (, ''Javāherāt-e Saltanati-ye Irān''), include elaborate crowns, thirty tiaras, and numerous aigrettes, a dozen bejeweled swords and shields ...
by the
government of Iran
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling State (polity), state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979.
Its Const ...
.
Background
Following the ascension of the
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty () is an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian royal dynasty that was the Pahlavi Iran, last to rule Iran before the country's monarchy was abolished by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. It was founded in 1925 by Reza Shah, Reza S ...
in 1925,
Reza Shah
Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...
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
The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...
. Inspiration for the new design was drawn from paintings and historical references to
crowns used during the
Sasanian era from 224 to 651 AD.
The Pahlavi Crown was commissioned and first used for the coronation of
Reza Shah
Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...
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 Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...
on 26 October 1967. The crown is currently on display with the rest of the Iranian National Jewels
The Iranian National Jewels (, ''Javāherāt-e Melli-ye Irān''), originally the Iranian Crown Jewels (, ''Javāherāt-e Saltanati-ye Irān''), include elaborate crowns, thirty tiaras, and numerous aigrettes, a dozen bejeweled swords and shields ...
at the Treasury of National Jewels in Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
.
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 talen ...
novel '' The Xanadu Talisman'', Modesty and Willie Garvin are pursued by the Moroccan underworld on a quest to recover the Pahlavi Crown.
Gallery
File:Reza shah coronation.jpg, Reza Shah wearing the crown at his coronation.
File:Coronation39b.jpg, Mohammad Reza Shah wearing the crown at his coronation.
See also
References
{{Crowns
Individual crowns
Iranian National Jewels
Pahlavi
National symbols of Iran
Pahlavi dynasty