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Artist/Maker
Paul Almásy
(French-Swiss, born Hungary, 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
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.
Additional Details
Markings
Verso, center (purple ink stamp): "PHOTO ALMASY"
Inscribed
Verso, top left corner (pencil): "PAL-2676.1"
Verso, center (pencil): "9"
Verso, center (pencil): "9"
Unknown artist, Greek (Ancient)
Date: 350-320 BCE
Medium: Polychrome terracotta with slip and pigment
Object number: 1929.30
Helen Frankenthaler
Date: 1985 (published 1987)
Medium: Aquatint and sugar lift etching, lithograph and screenprint
Object number: 1989.13
William E. Williams
Date: 1981 (published 1985)
Medium: Gelatin silver print
Object number: 1992.1.2
Sèvres Manufactory
Date: 1846
Medium: Hard-paste porcelain, gilt bronze
Object number: 1992.43a-b
Date: 19th century
Medium: Iron, wood, copper alloy
Object number: 2023.10.52
Unknown artist, Chinese
Date: c. 960-1127
Medium: Stoneware with white glaze
Object number: 2016.6.4