Sportsmen of Varzesh-e bāstāni in traditional costume, Iran

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Sportsmen of Varzesh-e bāstāni in traditional costume, Iran
Sportsmen of Varzesh-e bāstāni in traditional costume, Iran
Artist/Maker (French-Hungarian, 1906 – 2003)
Date1959
MediumVintage ferrotyped gelatin silver print
DimensionsSheet: 11 3/4 × 9 1/4 in. (29.8 × 23.5 cm) Image: 11 3/4 × 9 1/4 in. (29.8 × 23.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Thomas J. Wilson and Jill M. Garling, P2016
Object number2024.21.13
Not on view
DescriptionPahlevani and zourkhaneh rituals is the name inscribed by UNESCO for varzesh-e bāstāni ("heroic sport") or varzesh-e bāstāni ("ancient sport"), a traditional system of athletics originally used to train warriors in Iran (Persia) and adjacent lands. It combines martial arts, calisthenics, strength training and music. Recognized by UNESCO as the world's longest-running form of such training, it fuses elements of pre-Islamic Persian culture (particularly Zoroastrianism, Mithraism and Gnosticism) with the spirituality of Shia Islam and sufism. Practiced in a domed structure called the zurkh?neh, training sessions consist mainly of ritual gymnastic movements and climax with the core of combat practice, a form of submission-grappling called koshti pahlavāni.
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Additional Details

Markings Verso, center (purple ink stamp): "PHOTO ALMASY"
Inscribed Verso, top left corner (pencil): "PAL-2676.1"
Verso, center (pencil): "9"
Photography by David Revette.
Untitled, Philadelphia, from the portfolio “Party Pictures”
William E. Williams
Date: 1981 (published 1985)
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Object number: 1992.1.2
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Luncheon Plate
Sèvres Manufactory
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Medium: Hard-paste porcelain
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Sèvres Manufactory
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Medium: Hard-paste porcelain, gilt bronze
Object number: 1992.43a-b
Photo by John Bentham.
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Préfète Duffaut
Date: 1950-1959
Medium: Oil on masonite
Object number: 1981.12
Photograph by Dave Revette.
Funerary urn
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Medium: Terracotta with remnants of pigment
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Cylinder Vessel
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Date: c. 700-950 CE
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Object number: 2001.1.18
Artwork is in the public domain. Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton…
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Date: c. 883-859 BCE
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Unknown artist, Chinese
Date: c. 1821
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Unknown artist, Chinese
Date: 1644-1912
Medium: Jade
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Photograph by John Bentham.
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Yun-Fei Ji
Date: 2015
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Object number: 2016.3.1
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Ch’ing-pai ewer
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Date: c. 960-1127
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Object number: 2016.6.4