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The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies, University of Toronto, and the Invisible East Programme, Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford jointly present
“Zooming In: Architectural Inscriptions from 10th–13th-Century Afghanistan as Recorded in Photographic Archives”
Dr. Viola Allegranzi, Institute of Iranian Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Thursday, 13 March 2025, 12:00 p.m. Toronto/4:00 p.m. UK
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Abstract:
Research on historical monuments and archaeological sites in Afghanistan comes up against the poor state of preservation of architectural remains and restrictions on fieldwork. This lecture offers some reflections on the advantages and limitations of using photographic archives as complementary sources for the study of medieval architectural inscriptions and their context of production and reception. Indeed, the collections of photographs taken by scholars and travellers who visited the country during the 20th century are increasingly digitised and accessible. However, the documentation is often incomplete, making it difficult to assess the spatial context of the inscriptions and to observe technical and palaeographic details. Case studies of Ghurid monuments in northwestern Afghanistan will serve to illustrate the potential of research in photo archives, as well as the need to be cautious and adopt a broad comparative perspective in order to effectively improve our knowledge of writing practices and artistic traditions in the Islamicate East.
Bio:
Dr. Viola Allegranzi conducts research on texts and material culture from Iran and Central Asia between the 10th and 13th centuries CE, with a focus on Arabic and Persian inscriptions and their relevance as sources for the cultural history of the Eastern Islamic societies. Her thesis and the resulting book (Aux sources de la poésie ghaznavide, Paris 2019) are devoted to the Persian inscriptions from the Ghaznavid period (Afghanistan, 11th-12th century) and their intersections with poetic anthologies and narrative sources. As a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, she conducted a programme on the stucco decoration of the Abbasid mosques in the Islamic East. She is currently PI of the project Inscribing Authority. Islamic Rule in Central Asia (10th-13th Centuries) as Reflected in Monumental Epigraphy, funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and aimed at investigating the textual and visual communication strategies implemented by temporal and religious authorities who patronised monuments throughout medieval Central Asia.