Glassware and ceramic museum ( abgineh museum )
The Glassware and Ceramic Museum or simply Abgineh Museum is one of the museums in Tehran. This museum is located in a beautiful and historical building belonging to the Qajar period of Iran in a garden with an area of 7000 square meters on two floors and six halls, located in the historic Si-Tir Street. A magnificent octagonal mansion built by the order of Ahmad Qavam, known as Qavam al-Saltanah, one of the Iranian politicians and prime ministers (during the reign of Ahmad Shah Qajar and the Pahlavi era). The mansion is a combination of Iranian and European architecture. Its stairs are designed in Russian style. In every corner of this fantastic mansion, the art of Iranian masters can be seen. Wood carved doors and stairs, plaster ceilings and columns and mirror decoration have given this mansion a completely Iranian atmosphere. During the Qajar period, most villas and palaces were built in the European Baroque architecture. Intricate carvings on stones and columns were prominent features of the wealthy residence during this period. In 1989, sections were added to the mirror decoration of the second floor in which religious and revolutionary symbols can be seen.
In 1975, Qavam’s Mansion, which is like an attractive museum of architecture and art, was sold to Farah Pahlavi's office. A group of French, Iranian and Austrian designers and architects undertook the design of the museum and four years later the museum was officially opened in 1979.
One of the most prominent features of the museum's interior design is the unique design of the showcases and the innovative ideas used by the Austrian designer Hans Hollein. The showcases are completely unique by comparison, decorated by the inspiration of columns of Persepolis, the Tachara Palace of Darius (one of the kings of the Achaemenid) and the cube of Zoroaster in Naqsh-e Rustam. Ghavam mansion was included in the list of Iran National Heritage List in 1998. The Abgineh Museum is an exhibition of valuable glass and pottery that have been discovered and used in pre-Islamic era in Iran. The museum building has various sections such as Galleries, cultural products booth, library and office section. The display section includes six halls, which are Enamel Gallery, Crystal Gallery, Nacre Gallery, Golden Gallery, Lapis-Iazuli Gallery One and Lapis-Iazuli e Gallery Two.
