Chehel Sotoun

Isfahan · IRAN DIGITAL WALL

Royal reception was turned into a visual event at Chehel Sotoun. The Safavid pavilion faces a long pool, where its twenty wooden columns are reflected to create the idea behind the name “Forty Columns.” Inside, mirrorwork and murals depicting courtly receptions and battles present political history as an image. Look at the contrast between that narrative interior and the ordered garden setting outside. The garden is a component of UNESCO’s Persian Garden World Heritage property. Together, pavilion, paintings and water make this a visit about the staging of court life, as well as about garden design.