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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [551r] (1114/1814)
The record is made up of 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios). It was created in 1892-1924. It was written in English, Urdu and German. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
PEKSEPOLIS, AND OTHER RUINS
119
Bahrain Gur, the great hunter) and his spouse, for no other apparent
reason, however, than that the story of their separation and reunion is
one of the most popular of Persian legends. 1 Between the images of
the king and queen (if, indeed, the latter be a woman, which, in spite
of a 2 ')Tioi i improbability, it seems somewhat difficult to doubt) is a
small and terribly defaced figure, apparently that of a boy. 2 This fact
has led Dieulafoy to conjecture that the royal trio are Varahran II.,
his wife (who, according to Darmesteter was daughter of the leading
Jew of Babylon), and their son, whose united figures appear on the
coins of the reign. On the other hand, it is doubtful whether the
public portraiture of the female form would have been admissible as
early as the end of the third century a.d. I prefer therefore to leave
the indentification uncertain. Behind the king are two warriors or
attendants, the foremost of whom has a thick beard and braided hair,
and wears a tall helmet (Binning calls it ‘ a high-peaked hat ’) termina-
ting, after a fashion not unfamiliar in Sassanian likenesses, in the head
of an animal, generally supposed in this case to be a horse. His right
hand and forefinger are uplifted in the conventional attitude of respect.
Where this sculpture has escaped mutilation, it is well executed, and
after the lapse of 1300 to 1500 years retains an astonishing sharpness and
vigour.
The next two tablets, as well as the fifth in sequence, belong, in
common with a similar bas-relief at Firuzabad (which will be mentioned
Second and nex ^ chapter), to a different class of monumental
sculptures. They illustrate neither the pomp of regal
investiture nor the triumph over a captive foe, but the
equestrian prowess of warring kings. Accordingly, the stiff
and somewhat ponderous forms and pose of the ceremonial
panels are here replaced by a freedom of movement and a vivacity of
conception which reflect infinite credit on the artist who designed
them, and entitle the sculpture of the middle Sassanian period to
no mean place in the history of art. The particular form of crown or
helmet worn by the king in one of these bas-reliefs has suggested their
connection with the name of Varahran IV. (a.d. 388-399), and
whether he be the actual monarch depicted or not, it is probably
to that period that all the equestrian panels should be attributed. The
first two, that now claim our notice, are carved one above the other in
the rock at Naksh-i-Rustam, below the second Achsemenian tomb,
which is that of Darius, son of Hystaspes. It was not till fifty years
1 Fired by a similar enthusiasm, Mounsey (Journey, p. 209) describes the royal
circlet as ‘ a wreath held in token of the bond of love which united them !
2 Ker Porter (Travels, vol. i. p. 531) did not, apparently, discern this figure
himself, but mentions having seen it in an old drawing at Shiraz, It is, however,
clearly visible both to the naked eye and in photographs.
third
tablets:
Eques
trian
combat
About this item
- Content
These two volumes are George Curzon's own personal annotated copies of both volumes of his book Persia and the Persian Question , which was published in 1892. Alongside the volumes are various loose papers relating to Persia [Iran], consisting of the following: received correspondence; newspaper cuttings; publishers' press releases; cuttings from various booksellers' catalogues; various journal and magazine articles; two items of printed official British correspondence; several prints of photographs and sketches; and a few handwritten notes by Curzon.
In most cases these papers, which range in date from 1892 to 1924, relate to the chapters in the book where they were originally inserted, suggesting that they were kept by Curzon with the intention of using them to inform a revised edition of the book.
Of particular note among the small amount of correspondence are two letters received by Curzon in 1914 and 1915 from retired schoolmaster and Islamic scholar Sayyid Mazhar Hasan Musawi of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India (ff 5-9 and ff 44-53). These letters, which are written in Urdu and are accompanied by English translations, discuss in detail several inaccuracies found in the Urdu version of Persia and the Persian Question .
The various prints of photographs and sketches, which were originally inserted into volume two, are of different locations in the Gulf region. Several of these appear to have been produced in preparation for the publication of the second volume of John Gordon Lorimer's Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Oman and Central Arabia (i.e. the 'Geographical and Statistical' section) in 1908, as they are identical to the versions found in that volume.
Also of note among the loose papers are an illustrated article from Country Life dated 5 June 1920, entitled 'The People of Persia' (ff 36-37), and a printed family tree of the Shah of Persia [Aḥmad Shah Qājār], produced in preparation of his visit to Britain in 1919 (f 233).
Volume one of Persia and the Persian Question contains a map of Persia, Afghanistan and Beluchistan [Balochistan], which is folded inside the front cover (f 1).
The German language material consists of a publisher's press release for two books authored by German archaeologist Ernst Emil Herzfeld (ff 29-30).
- Extent and format
- 2 volumes with inserts (898 folios)
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: this shelfmark consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the first folio of volume one (1-463), and terminates at the last folio of volume two (ff 464-898); these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Each volume contains a large number of loose leaves, which have been foliated in the order that they were inserted into the volume; for conservation reasons, these loose folios have been removed from the volume and stored separately. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers of the two volumes.
Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Urdu and German in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [551r] (1114/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213847.0x000073> [accessed 5 June 2026]
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- Reference
- Mss Eur F111/33
- Title
- Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Questionby George Curzon, with Inserted Papers
- Pages
- 54r:135v, 147r:149v, 158r:180v, 183r:221v, 224r:224v, 227r:246v, 248r:257v, 259r:260v, 268r:362v, 364r:364v, 367r:388v, 390r:400v, 402r:416v, 419r:432v, 434r:444v, 448r:462v, 464r:471v, 475r:481v, 483r:513v, 516r:525v, 527r:544v, 546r:563v, 566r:598v, 600r:622v, 624r:656v, 658r:665v, 667r:675v, 678r:684v, 687r:688v, 691r:691v, 693r:693v, 695r:708v, 711r:721v, 724r:726v, 728r:729v, 731r:736v, 742r:742v, 746r:757v, 759r:761v, 763r:763v, 765r:765v, 772r:777v, 780r:789v, 793r:794v, 797r:809v, 811r:821v, 825r:840v, 843r:898v
- Author
- Curzon, George Nathaniel, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
- Usage terms
- Public Domain