Unveiling the Veiled: Royal Consorts, Slaves and Prostitutes in Qajar Photographs

Unveiling the Veiled: Royal Consorts, Slaves and Prostitutes in Qajar Photographs is the first public visual venue in the field of Middle Eastern and Iranian Studies bringing together photographs of Naser al-Din Shah's (b. 1831-d. 1896) consorts and their African female slaves (kaniz) inside the royal harem, accompanied by images of women, probably prostitutes of the Naseri period (1848-1896), inside the studio of Amir Doust Mohammad Khan Moayer al-Mamalek (b. 1857-d. 1913), one of the influential members of the royal court and the king's son-in-law. Indeed, properly analysing these three innovative and provocative topics -royal consorts, slaves and prostitutes- together requires a deep understanding of several fields of research. This is why I am presenting this exhibition in conjunction with the conference on Slavery and Sexual Labor in the Middle East and North Africa in the hope of providing a new platform for those of us who consider photographs of the Qajar period of Iran as material culture for use in further social, cultural and historical investigations. Dr. Pedram Khosronejad Associate Director for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies School of Global Studies & Partnerships Oklahoma State University