Robes of Honour: woven diplomacy with Samantha Happé

The city of Isfahan in Iran is famous for its Perso–Islamic architecture: palaces, mosques, minarets and grand boulevards. During the Safavid empire (1506-1736), it served as a showcase of sartorial grandeur, where luxury textiles transformed the city into a spectacle of power and wealth. The bazaars overflowed with sumptuous fabrics, while the Shahs, their harems, and nobility draped themselves in brocaded silks using gold and silver threads. Visiting European ambassadors were often presented with elaborate robes, turbans, and weapons before their departure, often expressing delight in what they perceived as generous recognition of their status. 

Yet, beneath this veneer of hospitality lay a deeper, more complicated, story. This lecture will unravel the intricate symbolism embedded in the patterns of these garments, focusing on the form of the dragonslayer. Far from mere tokens of goodwill, these gifts were a strategic enactment of the Shah’s dominance, a sophisticated play in which the Shah’s supremacy was reaffirmed. 

Samantha Happé is a doctoral candidate and tutor in art history and curatorship at the University of Melbourne, and a research officer at the Australian National University. Samantha’s current research project studies the role of the gift in negotiating diplomatic relationships between France and non-European nations during the reign of Louis XIV. Her doctoral thesis examines the visual and material culture surrounding the Persian embassy to Versailles in 1715. 

Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the lecture, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This lecture is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our exhibition-house, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: Anthony Van Dyck, Portrait of Sir Robert Shirley, 1622 (detail). Petworth House and Park, West Sussex