National Identity and Cultural Heritage: The Construction of Conservation Culture During the First Pahlavi Period
Keywords:
Qajar, First Pahlavi, Society for National Heritage, Conservation, Western OrientalistsAbstract
This study aims to examine the conservation culture that emerged during Iran's nation-building process, focusing particularly on the First Pahlavi era (1925-1941). It first briefly explores conservation efforts during the late Qajar period, emphasizing Naser al-Din Shah’s initiatives in restoring civil and religious buildings, supported by the legal framework established with the 1907 Municipal Law. The paper then analyzes the fundamental transformation in conservation approaches during the First Pahlavi period, characterized by the establishment of the Society for National Heritage and the influence of Western Orientalists such as Ernst Herzfeld, André Godard, and Arthur Upham Pope. The findings reveal that this new conservation culture, guided by Persian nationalist ideology, deliberately excluded buildings from the Qajar era while prioritizing pre-Islamic heritage. Influenced by Camillo Boito’s conservation principles (1883), the Antiquities Law enacted in 1930 legitimized selective conservation, leading to extensive demolitions and reshaping Iran’s historical memory. The study concludes that the politically driven conservation policies of this period significantly influenced Iran’s cultural heritage conservation practices.
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