Love amid ruin

Among the most characteristic and compelling art forms of the Qajar period (1779–1924) in Iran are works in “lacquer.” Technically distinct from East Asian lacquers, these are esse...

In the tragic romance between Layla and Qays (later known as majnun—“mad” or “possessed”), the two met and fell in love as schoolchildren. Layla’s father rejected Qays’s marriage p...

This fragmentary mask is over-life size and made of marble. Several features including the deep-set almond eyes, pointed nose, and stylized hair were created with a drill....