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A friend who keeps a sharp eye out for this kind of thing just sent me a YouTube playlist of apparently new videos by the Bodleian Library about some aspects of their collection of Persian manuscripts. They are brief, and leave you wishing they were longer. Digital Bodleian has a section on Persian manuscripts, which explains: The Bodleian acquired its first Persian manuscripts in 1602, the year it opened. These included a history of Gīlān – a province in western Iran - and a poetical work. The collections of Laud and Pococke contained a small number of Persian items, but it was with the collections of John and Thomas Greaves that the first Persian manuscripts of note entered the Library. MS. Greaves 1 (binding digitized only), a copy of Jāmī’s poem Yūsuf and Zulaykhā is prized for its beautiful lacquered binding and illustrations. John Greaves also made use of his copy of the Star Tables of Ulugh Beg – MS. Greaves 5 (sample only) – to publish his own astronomical and geographical o...

Installation view at Aliens vs Gorillas . All photos by Matin Jameie for Dastan. Another exhibition that opened up in the last couple of weeks, after Covid restrictions were eased, at Dastan in Tehran is Aliens and Gorillas , a solo show by Amir Kamand, curated by Mamali Shafahi. Amir Kamand, born in Tehran in 1960, is a sculptor now working mainly in polychrome wood. During his former career in plastic injection molding, metal machining and lathing, he was introduced to the use of wax and started to make sculptures with it, but soon decided that wood was a superior material. His works - colourful, vibrant and frequently funny - combine elements drawn from his own experience (e.g. as a former skier and boxer) and subconscious with references to icons of both western and oriental pop culture, cinema, poetry and literature. They have featured in three Annual Outsider Exhibitions and at Balice Hertling in Paris, and more recently in a large-scale solo installation at the Palais de Tokyo,...

Qaran Unhorses Barman, from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp   ' Epic Iran explores 5,000 years of Iranian art, design and culture, bringing together over 300 objects from ancient, Islamic and contemporary Iran'. So runs a text on the V&A's dedicated exhibition website. Having seen the exhibition (which, Covid oblige , opened three months late) the other day, I wondered how many (or few) other countries could be the object of a show spanning 5,000 years of artistic production. The concept is ambitious, to say the least. While the press - or at least, the numerous online articles I've managed to find - has been unanimously enthusiastic, I'd be interested to know what impact this show has had on people with little or no prior knowledge or experience of Iran and its culture (or more accurately, cultures, with an 's'), its history and its present, including its buzzing contemporary art scene . I personally found the pre-Islamic sections, displaying some magni...

Installation view of Alternating Currents . All photos in this post are by Matin Jameie for Dastan. As I mentioned in my post about 'outsider' artist Reza Shafahi , despite the combined effects of sanctions and the Covid crisis, the art scene in Iran is buzzing at the moment. The easing of restrictions has brought a wave of gallery openings and the newly-renovated Tehran MOCA has delved into its reserves to put on an exhibition devoted entirely to Andy Warhol . If this is an indication of plans to show more of the collection, it can only be good news as many of the works in store have gone unseen for over 40 years. As I also hinted in that earlier post, Dastan, one of the few Iranian galleries still present at international fairs, has added a new multi-purpose art complex to its portfolio. Parallel Circuit is, according to Dastan's website, 'a multidisciplinary art complex in the center of Tehran, Iran, combining a full-scale exhibition space, artists’ residencies, stud...