Photo by Hamidreza Hasani via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Abgineh museum possesses some of the most remarkable mirror works and pottery vessels of Iran. The museum is an octagonal Qajar building that is located in a 7000 m2 garden. The construction of this museum is a combination of Iranian and European architecture; its staircase is inspired by the Russian style and the Exterior design is full of carving and stucco works. Abgineh museum has two floors and five halls. The first and the second hall are in the first floor displaying object from pre-historic period. The other halls are located in the second floor which is assigned to the Islamic objects. Each hall was designed for a specific type of dishware; the names are chosen accordingly and consist of Mina (Enameled) hall, Bolur (crystal) hall, Sadaf (shell) hall, Zarrin Pham (golden shades) hall, and Lajevard (Lazuli) hall. There is another hall that is titled as the audiovisual hall and is located at the museum’s entrance; it shows how the archeological studies were in the past. There is a mirror case on the ground that displays exploration location.
Abgineh museum has two floors and five halls. The first and the second hall are in the first floor displaying object from pre-historic period. The other halls are located in the second floor which is assigned to the Islamic objects.
As it was mentioned, the first hall is called Mina or Enameled. It has some of the oldest objects retrieved from Chughazanbil temple and Dasht Qazvin. The oldest objects of this museum are some glass pipes called glass cylinder that belongs to 2000 BC. The Bolur or Crystal hall includes some Crystal and mirrored objects coming from historic years and early Islamic period. Sadaf or shell hall has a collection of pottery vessels, remained from 9th century and some crystal objects from different periods. It also has some Mandayie vessels. Zarrin Pham or the hall of golden shades includes inscription, lusterware and enameled works gained from 10th century BC to 14th century BC. The Lajevard or Lazuli hall displays some turquoise wares from Ilkhanid era. The corridor of the museum is also decorated with pottery and crystal objects belonging to different eras of the Islamic period and the 18th and 19th centuries that were made in France and Bohemia.
The plaster work of museum is divided to two periods: some objects left from the time of Ghavam Al Saltaneh, and the western style from when it became the Egypt embassy. It must be mentioned that the upstairs mirror works all belong to the Qajar era. The museum has a long history. It used to be Ghavam Al Saltaneh home, the Iranian politician in Qajar and the Pahlavi era, who was the prime minister of Iran for five terms of office. After a while, the building was turned to be Egypt’s embassy, and in this period some European plaster work was attached to the first floor. The building was later changed into Afghanistan embassy and the national trade bank as well.
In 1976, the Farah Pahlavi Institution bought the structure to stablish Mirror and Glassware museum. The museum’s interior design was decorated by Hans Holien the Austrian architecture. Holien designed the museum according to Tachara palace in Takht-e-Jamshid, Safavid arches and Zoroaster Kaaba. The museum is on located on si-e-tir Avenue. It has a library in the northern west side of structure that consists of 4000 English and Persian books related to history of art and archeology.
