Tehran - Iran - page 100

THE PEACOCK THRONE
When Fath Ali Shah ordered a new throne in 1798 his artists didn't hold back. Taking a daybed-style takht (table in
a teahouse) they adorned it with 26,733 gems including an extravagant carved sun, studded with precious stones.
Before long it became known as the Sun Throne. Later Fath Ali married Tavous Tajodoleh, nicknamed Tavous
Khanoum or Lady Peacock, and the throne became known as the Peacock Throne in her honour. Today this throne
sits outside the vault door at the National Jewels Museum.
Fath Ali certainly had a taste for gems, but one of his predecessors, Nader Shah, liked the finer things too. So
much, in fact, that he invaded India in order to recover the Kuh-e Nur diamond. During the expedition he also
bagged the Moghuls' famous Peacock Throne. But during the haul back to Persia, this piece of booty fell into the
hands of rebellious soldiers, who hacked it up to spread the wealth among themselves. In the intervening years the
stories of the Peacock Thrones have become muddled, so you might still hear people say (erroneously) that Tehran's
Peacock Throne originally came from India.
Most of the collection dates back to Safavid times, when the shahs scoured Europe, In-
dia and the lands of the Ottoman Empire for booty with which to decorate their capital,
Esfahan. But as the Safavid empire crumbled, the jewels became a high profile spoil of
war. When Mahmud Afghan invaded Iran in 1722, he plundered the treasury and sent its
contents to India. On ascending the throne in 1736, Nader Shah Afshar despatched
courtiers to ask for the return of the jewels. When their powers of persuasion proved un-
equal to the task, he sent an army to prove that he was serious. To get the soldiers off his
back, Mohammed Shah of India was forced to hand over the Darya-ye Nur and Kuh-e Nur
diamonds, a Peacock Throne (though not the one you'll see here) and assorted other treas-
ures. After Nader Shah's murder in 1747, Ahmed Beg plundered the treasury and dis-
persed the jewels. The Kuh-e Nur, the world's largest cut diamond, found its way into the
sticky fingers of the colonial British and has been locked up in the Tower of London
since. The Qajar and Pahlavi rulers enthusiastically added to the jewels collection, which
grew to be so valuable that in the 1930s it was transferred to the National Bank of Iran
(now the Central Bank of Iran) as a reserve for the national currency.
You can pick up a guidebook (stocks permitting) at the shop as you enter, or take one of
the regular and professional tours in English, French, German or Arabic - it's included in
the ticket price and worth waiting for as there are few descriptions in English.
Make sure you don't miss the Darya-ye Nur (Sea of Light), a pink diamond weighing
182 carats and said to be the largest uncut diamond in the world; the Peacock (Naderi)
Throne outside the vault door ( Click here ) ; the tall Kiani Crown made for Fath Ali Shah
in 1797; the crowns worn by the last shah and his wife, Farah; and the incredible 34kg
Globe of Jewels , made in 1869 using 51,366 precious stones - the seas are made from