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The Persian Garden: Echoes of Paradise

by Mehdi Khansari (Author, Photographer), M. Reza Moghtader (Author), Minouch Yavari (Author) Format: Hardcover

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For more than three thousand years, the Persian garden has been a focus of Iran's national imagination, influencing its art, literature, and even religion. The Persian garden's inspirational role has, however, extended far beyond the land of its origin; its precepts have exerted a profound influence on garden design around the world. The Persian Garden: Echoes of Paradise chronicles the history of the Persian garden, from the magnificent sanctuaries and hunting parks of fifth-century b.c. Persepolis to the magical nightingale gardens of nineteenth-century Tehran. All were seen as a kind of earthly paradise (the English word paradise has its roots in the old Persian word pairi-daeza meaning a walled space). To an astonishing extent, that vision seems justified.

This book was meticulously researched and created over a period of six years in, Paris, Tehran and Washington by photographer, Mehdi Khansari and architect Minouch Yavari, together with the renowned Persian architect and architectural historian Reza Moghtader. It explains the philosophy behind Persian garden design and offers an authoritative account of its developmentintroducing new historical material in the process. This extraordinary story is enhanced by vivid descriptions of Persian gardens as seen through the eyes of travelers to Iran during the past five hundred years. Over 240 illustrations in full color, complement the text. They include magnificent color photographs, old plates and engravings, as well as exquisite architectural renderings and plans of the sites and the gardens. A selection of the finest Persian garden-carpets, textiles, miniature paintings, stone reliefs, painted tiles, pottery, and poetry, augment the reader's experience of an ancient art form that for centuries has sought to meld the physical and the spiritual.

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Print length

169 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Mage Pub
Publication date

March 1, 1998
Dimensions

12.25 x 0.75 x 10 inches
ISBN-10

0934211469
ISBN-13

978-0934211468

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About the Author

Mehdi Khansari was born in Tehran and studied photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has coauthored with his wife, Minouch Yavari, Espace Persan (Pierre Mardaga, 1986), a book on traditional architecture in Iran, and The Persian Bazaar: Veiled Space of Desire (Mage, 1994).

M. R. Moghtader was born in Tehran in 1931 and received his architecture degree in Paris in 1956. From 1958 to 1981 he practiced as an architect in Iran where his designs include the master plan for the city of Tabriz, the Shiraz University complex, and the Tehran University Faculties of Theology and Economic Science. Since 1981 he has been living in Paris, where he researches and practices architecture.

Minouch Yavari was born in Tehran and received her architecture degree in Paris. She has worked since 1984 as an architect in Tehran and in France. She has coauthored with her husband, Mehdi Khansari, Espace Persan (Pierre Mardaga, 1986), a book on traditional architecture in Iran, and The Persian Bazaar: Veiled Space of Desire (Mage, 1994).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Persian garden stands in opposition to its landscape. It is experienced as much in terms of what it is not as what it is. Outside its high wallsand the garden is always walledmay brood barren mountains and vast expanses of pitiless desert; within, all is calm. The garden becomes the still point in a turning world, a field of constant, subtle change held in delicate balance by man-made design. From the surrounding desert (or bustling city), one enters a gate and passes through an airy summer pavilion to see a long, cascading waterway flanked by shady walks and cypress avenues. Here the sun's glare is no more than gilding in a moving filigree of light and shadow, the desert wind the breath that wrinkles and slides on still water and whispers in the branches of the trees. -- From the Preface

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mage Pub
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 1, 1998
Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 169 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0934211469
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0934211468
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.25 x 0.75 x 10 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #3,630,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,582 in Regional Gardening & Horticulture
- #1,661 in Landscape Architecture (Books)
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