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Annotated Copy of Persia and the Persian Question by George Curzon, with Inserted Papers [667v] (1351/1814)
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
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310 PERSIA
recovered by bim were tbe reniciinSj since most ciu efull\ pieced
together and liberally restored, of the two superb friezes of the
Archers and the Lions that decorated the fapade of the later palace.
They are the finest existing specimens of that art of enamelling in
polychrome upon brick which was invented by the Babylonians
(though unknown to Nineveh), and was adopted from them by the
Achaemenian monarchs, more especially for tile decoration ol the
palace of Susa, itself at no great distance from Babylon and .
situated in a region where stone was not, as at Persepolis, easily
procurable, but where there was abundance of clay foi bucks-
The Frieze of Archers represents a procession of warriors in relief,
some five feet in height. Their beard and hair are close-curled,
after the Assyrian fashion; on their back they carry a big quiver
and a curving bow; they wear a yellow tunic, patterned and
diapered. The twisted turbans on their heads and the golden-
knobbed spears which they hold in their hands identify these warriors
with the Ten Thousand Immortals, as described by Herodotus, who
formed the Body-guard of the Great King. 1 Their complexions,
which vary from black to white, typify the opposite quarters of the
globe from which they were recruited. The Frieze of the Lions, %
which is framed between bricks presenting elegant symmetrical
designs, represents the beasts as striding forward with opened jaw
and glaring eye, with swelling muscle and outstretched tail. The
prevailing colours are green, pink, blue, and yellow ; and a gorgeous
spectacle they must have presented as they glittered under the hot
sun of Susiana from the palace wall. 2 M. Dieulafoy also discovered,
and there are exposed to view in the Louvre, a number oh Koval
seals, coins, vases, cylinders, and glass and terra-cotta implements
of the same epoch. Nevertheless, what was brought to light by
him is probably but little compared with the remains of a still
older past that doubtless lie entombed below. The edifices of the
Achsemenian monarchs, being latest in date, would naturally be
encountered near the summit of the mounds. Subsequent explorers
may expect to find in their lower strata the relics of a far more
1 Lib. vii. cap. 83.
2 The Lions’ Frieze is composed of bricks in relief, 1 ft. 2 in. long by 7 in. high,
and 9 in. thick. The lions are 11 ft. 3 in. long, by 5 ft. 6 in. high. The Archers’
Frieze is differently made, of small squares, 1 ft. 1 in. each way, and 3 in. thick,
of artificial concrete, which combines the whiteness of plaster with the resistance
of limestone.
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 [667v] (1351/1814), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, Mss Eur F111/33, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100157213848.0x000098> [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