Persian Ethnography and Historical Illustration: Steel Engraving of the People of Mazandaran from La Perse, 1841

Mazandaran Iran

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Debeux, Louis. La Perse, 1841. Original steel engraving depicting inhabitants of Mazandaran, the northern Iranian region bordering the Caspian Sea, published during the reign of Mohammad Shah Qajar (1834–1848). The illustration belongs to the nineteenth-century French tradition of geographical and ethnographic publications, which introduced European audiences to the peoples, regional customs, and landscapes of Persia. Mazandaran occupied a distinctive position within Qajar Iran, separated from much of the Iranian plateau by the Alborz Mountains and characterized by its fertile Caspian coastal lowlands, agricultural settlements, and regional cultural traditions.
Debeux, Louis. La Perse. Paris: Firmin Didot Frères, 1841. Original steel engraving, approximately 5.5" x 8.5". Published as an illustration to Debeux's French-language account of Persia, the plate depicts inhabitants of the Mazandaran region. The engraving belongs to a larger illustrated publication addressing Persian geography, history, and society, including the regional distinctions of the Qajar kingdom.
Mazandaran was closely associated with the Qajar dynasty, whose origins lay in northern Iran and whose rulers maintained political and dynastic connections with the Caspian provinces. During the nineteenth century, French geographical publications introduced European readers to areas of Persia beyond the royal capital of Tehran and the better-known cities of Isfahan and Shiraz. Debeux's illustration records the contemporary European portrayal of a northern Iranian population during the Qajar period. General age-related toning; otherwise in very good condition.

Item #14465

Price: $250.00