Marble Palace (Tehran)

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Marble Palace
File:Marmar-palace-4.jpg
General information
Architectural style Eclectic architecture, combining Eastern and Western building features
Town or city Tehran
Country Iran
Construction started 1934
Completed 1937; 87 years ago (1937)
Client Reza Shah
Technical details
Size 35,462 square meters (land area)
Design and construction
Architect Fathallah Firdaws
Engineer Joseph Leon

The Marble Palace (Persian: Kākh-e Marmar) is one of the historic buildings and royal residences in Tehran, Iran. It is located in the city centre,[1] but the location was a quiet quarter of Tehran when the palace was erected.[2]

History

The Marble Palace was built between 1934 and 1937.[3] It was constructed on the orders of Reza Shah by French engineer Joseph Leon and Iranian architect Fat'hollah Firdaws.[4] It was originally built to host official functions and receptions.[2]

It was used by Reza Shah and then his son Mohammad Reza Shah as their residence.[5] Reza Shah and his fourth spouse Esmat Dowlatshahi lived at the palace with their five children until Reza Shah's exile in 1941.[6] Reza Shah signed his letter of abdication at the palace in September 1941.[7]

The palace hosted significant royal events during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah. It was one of his two significant palaces in addition to Golestan Palace.[8] The palace was identified with the Shah's persona in the 1950s.[4] The palace hosted all three marriage ceremonies of the Shah. The Iranian wedding ceremony of the Shah and his first spouse, Princess Fawzia, was held at the palace in 1939.[9] It was their residence until their divorce in 1945.[10]

In October 1950, the betrothal ceremony and in February 1951, the wedding ceremony of the Shah and his second spouse, Soraya Esfendiary, were held at the palace.[11][12] Both betrothal and marriage of the Shah to his third wife, Farah Diba, also occurred at the palace.[13][14] Shahnaz Pahlavi, daughter of the Shah and Princess Fawzia, also wed Ardeshir Zahedi at the palace in October 1957.[15] In addition, the palace hosted the Shah's 48th birthday party.[16]

Besides these events the Shah also survived an assassination attempt at the palace on 10 April 1965, perpetrated by an Iranian soldier.[17][18] Following this event the palace was no longer in use[1] and was made a museum in 1970.[19]

Style and technical features

The image of Marble Palace on 100 rials banknote

The design of the two story palace was first developed by Ostad Jafar Khan.[19][20] However, final sketch was produced by Ostad Haidar Khan.[20] The overall architectural style of the palace is eclectic, combining Eastern, including Qajar architectural features, and Western architectural styles.[5][21]

The palace is surrounded by a garden.[22] The external surface of the palace is of white marble.[1][2] The stone entrance of the palace where two statues of Achaemenid soldiers holding arrows were erected particularly reflects eclectic architectural style.[21] These statues were carved by Iranian artist Jafar Khan.[21] The palace has other gates which were made by local craftsmen from different provinces.[23] The palace is covered by a huge dome that is a replica of the Sheikh Lotfollah mosque in Isfahan.[4][24] The dome is covered by arabesque tiles with scroll-like patterns.[22]

The internal area of the palace is highly formal with heavily carved doors and extremely high ceilings.[22] The palace has a very large reception room where mirrors are used like in many mosques and holy shrines in the country.[25] The room is known as "Hall of Mirrors".[8] The interior of the palace was furnished by rich fabrics and rugs.[2] Decorations were made by Iranian architect Hossein Lorzadeh.[19][20] The tiles used at the palace were produced by Ostad Yazdi and paintings by Ostad Behzad.[19]

The land area of the palace is 35,462 square metres (3.5 ha; 8.8 acres), 2,870 square metres (0.3 ha; 0.7 acres) of which is used for residence.[5][19]

Current usage

After the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, the palace was used as a museum until 1981.[26] Then it was given to the expediency discernment council.[26] Local people reported that the palace had been used by the senior politicians in the Islamic Republic of Iran.[27] The historical items used at the palace, including furnitures, are being exhibited at the decorative arts museum in Tehran.[28]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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