A ‘royal’ vest which once belonged to Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar has been showcased in a rare gesture at the Museum of Iran’s Parliament. The garment, over 120 years old, was tailored and gifted to the king as a welcome gift upon his trip to Paris.
The vest is currently kept in a special glass display in the Mashrooteh Building (former parliament headquarters) and is open for public viewing on all working days from 9 am to 2 pm, said Ali Tatari, head of Library, Museum, and Document Center of Iran Parliament.
The tailored apparel was acquired through a famous art collector in Iran, whose name was not mentioned. The library had previously also purchased valuable historical documents from the same collector. Negotiations for purchasing the vest failed four years ago, as an agreement was not reached on the price, Mehr News Agency reported.
Embellished
Although there are no doubts that the vest belonged to the king, it is not quite clear how it had slipped out of the court and was sold on the market in the first place. The art collector, an octogenarian, states that it was acquired through a Qajar prince. Previously, the collector had also marketed luxurious outfits belonging to the ministers of the first and second Pahlavi era.
The vest was tailored in France and is embellished with the king’s name in Farsi. After bringing the vest to Iran, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah, a hefty man, did not wear the garb as it did not fit him. The vest is slightly smaller than an ‘extra large size’. It is in near mint condition as it had not been worn. Other than the crease in the middle, which is expected to be mended later, the vest has no other blemishes.
The museum is located in Baharestan Square, Tehran.
