Rare 400-year-old Iranian panel on show after 'painstaking' renovation by Scottish museum

The panel was from a bathhouse of a palace in Iran and it is now going on display at the V&A Dundee.

An ancient Iranian panel is to go on display for the first time in more than 20 years after a “painstaking” renovation by a Scottish museum.

Originally from the royal Hammam of Haft Dast Palace in Isfahan, Iran, the 17th-century panel has been restored by experts from National Museums Scotland after more than a century of heavy overpainting.

Experts work on restoring the tile painting. | National Museum Scotland

The scene on the tiles, measuring 4.5m wide, depicts an idealised garden paradise - a reflection of Safavid kingship - in which the ruler was imagined as gardener of a flourishing realm.

Using UV light imaging, the extent of the overpainting was revealed. Heavy concrete backing, restorations and paint was removed from all 114 tiles.

The panel is now to go on display at V&A Dundee as part of its coming exhibition Garden Futures: Designing with Nature.

James Wylie, project curator at V&A Dundee, said: “This extraordinary tile panel from ancient Iran is a stunning embodiment of the garden as a symbol of power, paradise and cultural identity. We are thrilled to display it at V&A Dundee for the first time in over two decades, following its meticulous conservation by our colleagues at National Museums Scotland.

UV imaging demonstrates the extent of the overpainting. | National Museums Scotland

“Including this rare treasure in the exhibition expands the story well beyond contemporary design, offering a rare glimpse into the universal and enduring human impulse to shape nature into meaning. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to experience a masterpiece of Safavid art in a new light, and to consider how gardens have always been spaces of imagination, beauty and political expression.”

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The tile panel is believed to be the only surviving example of the complete garden motif, with a dense array of trees and flowering plants, which would have been repeated on several walls in the Hammam. It entered the museum’s collection in 1899 and this is the first time the panel has ever been loaned.

Charles Stable, artefact conservator at National Museums Scotland, said the tiles had been “restored” in the early 1900s, mounted on cement and plaster frames weighing around 600kg and heavily overpainted.

He said: “Thanks to support from Art Fund, we removed the backing, restorations and overpaint from all 114 tiles, repairing them and filling losses. The tiles come from different panels, so there is variation in design details and glazes, and the early restoration and overpainting had deliberately disguised this to give the panel a more cohesive appearance.

The panel before restoration. | National Museums Scotland

“Our approach has been to use a neutral background colour to reveal the original decoration, rather than attempting to match it. The tiles have been bonded onto lightweight aluminium honeycomb boards making the panel much lighter, which has allowed it to be loaned for the very first time.”

Friederike Voigt, principal curator of west, south and south-east Asian collections at National Museums Scotland, said: “This rare panel is the only one of its kind to show a complete composition of this motif. Beautifully painted and rich in symbolism, it offers a tantalising glimpse into the splendour of the gardens at the Haft Dast Palace.

“Extensive conservation work has revealed it in its full glory and I’m delighted that it’s going on display for the first time in a generation as part of this major exhibition.”

Exhibition Garden Futures: Designing with Nature will be on show at the V&A from Saturday.