Antoin Sevruguin

The recorded working language is Russian and Persian. Places of work recorded in the authority are Iran. Residence is recorded at Tehran. Work by Antoin Sevruguin is recorded in the collections of National Museum of World Cultures, Netherlands Photo Museum, Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, Rijksmuseum and Museum Rietberg. Distinctions recorded are Order of the Lion and the Sun.

• Name — Antoin Sevruguin • Born — 1851 • Birthplace — Russian Embassy, Tehran, Sublime State of Iran • Died — 1933 • Place of death — Tehran, Imperial State of Iran • Resting Place — Doulab Cemetery, Tehran • Spouse — Louise Gourgenian • Field — Painting, photography • Patrons — Naser al-Din Shah • Children — Seven, including André Sevruguin • Honorific Suffix — Khan (Persian: خان) • Native Name — آنتوان سورگین

Born into a Russian family of Armenian-Georgian origin in the Russian embassy of Tehran, Iran: Antoin Sevruguin was one of the many children of Vasily Sevryugin and a Georgian "Ms. Ashin". Vasily Sevryugin (or Vassil de Sevruguin) was a Russian diplomat to Tehran. Achin had raised her children in Tbilisi, Georgia because she was denied her husband's pension. After Vassil died in a horse riding accident Antoin gave up the art form of painting and took up photography to support his family. His brothers Kolia and Emanuel helped him set up a studio in Tehran on Ala al-dawla Street (today Ferdowsi St.).

• Illustration — Antoin Sevruguin signature Many of Antoin's photographs were taken from 1870 to 1930. Because Sevruguin spoke Persian as well as other languages, he was capable of communicating with different social strata and tribes from his country Iran. His photos of the royal court, the Qajar harem, mosques, and other religious monuments were compared to those of other Western photographers in Iran. Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1846–1896) took a special interest in photography, and many royal buildings and events were portrayed by Sevruguin.

Many Westerners who lived in Iran and travelers who visited the country brought back photographs from Antoin Sevruguin, often mentioning him in their travelogues of the time. Sevruguin's photographic studio, located on Avenue Ala al-Dawla, was one among several photographic studios on that street. Local residents could have their pictures taken in his studio, often posing in front of a painted backdrop. Most photographs were captured as glass negatives and printed as albumen prints. These prints frequently featured a logo with Sevruguin's name on one side. However, many 19th-century tourists found his name challenging to spell in Western languages, leading to various misspellings such as Sevraguine, Sevrugin, Sevriogin, Segruvian, and Serunian. Phonetically, his name was spelled "Sevr-joe-gien."

In 1908 the world was denied the rich collection of Sevruguin's images when Cossacks of Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar (r. 1907–1909) inadvertently bombed his store in suppression of Zahiru’d-Dawla, the constitutionalist Governor of Rasht. His house along with the whole street was burned. Up to that point, Antoin had over 7000 photographs. Only 2000 were salvaged. As the photographs depicted numerous figures associated with the former Qajar regime and showed "conditions far removed from his own notions of a modern westernized nation", Reza Shah Pahlavi (r. 1925–1941) confiscated the remaining images.[4]

• Illustration — A beggar in Tehran • Illustration — Naser al-Din Shah Qajar on the steps of the Sun Throne • Illustration — Kurdish woman, National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, Netherlands • Illustration — Two Ladies and a Child Reposing in the Harem, Brooklyn Museum • Illustration — Vladimir Kossogovsky, commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade. Pictured in 1900, Tehran. • Illustration — Pahlevani and zoorkhaneh rituals • Illustration — Girl Adorned in Silver Jewelry • Illustration — Men with a live lion in Iran. • Illustration — Reza Khan (later Reza Shah) as Qajar Iran's War Minister • Illustration — Arthur Churchill Bailward • Illustration — Niẓām al-Mulk • Illustration — Dervish