Exploring Iran

The Photography of
Erich F. Schmidt,1930–1940

Aye Gürsan-Salzmann
 Introduction

T
his cd-rom includes additional images to those printed in the book—from
the Archives of the University Museum, to reveal a more expansive pan-
orama of the people and places Schmidt and his teams visited, and images
(Figures 81-88) kindly shared by Erika Schmidt, Erich Schmidt’s daughter, to provide
a glimpse of Schmidt in his family surroundings during his post-field era.

The captions give general information about the photographs, taken directly
from the card files in the Museum’s Archives, except in a few instances where dates
and geographic locations for towns have been added by Aye Gürsan-Salzmann.

No photographs may be reproduced without written consent of the rights holders.

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

3260 South Street • Philadelphia, PA 19104
Figure 1 Woman exiting the old city gate of the Damghan citadel. Neg. #80957.
July 1931.
Figure 2 Damghan citadel test dig. Note drying mudbricks stacked by the villagers
for use in new structures. Neg. #82543. June 1931.
Figure 3 “Goat mother” nursing the pet gazelle. Neg. #83381. July 1932.
Figure 4 Excavations at Damghan citadel during early morning roll-call by Schmidt.
Neg. #82759. August 1931.
Figure 5 An efficient system of transporting excavated earth, with wagons on rail-
road tracks. Neg. #83058. November 1931.
Figure 6 Copper bracelets still intact on the arm bones of the “dancer,” c. 2000 BC.
Neg. #84688. December 1931.
Figure 7 A Scarecrow, cow’s skull, Damghan. Neg. #83373. July 1932.
Figure 8 “Going home,” a pen-and-ink drawing by the Project’s artist/draftsman
Ivan Gerasimoff. Neg. #85414. 1933.
Figure 9 Phallic symbol at road near the edge of Khuzistan plain in western Iran.
Neg. #83406. March 1932.
Figure 10. Close-up of phallic symbol at road near the edge of Khuzistan plain in
western Iran. March 1932.
Figure 11 Cemetery near the city of Shiraz, southern Iran. The lion-shaped Seljuk
tombstones in the foreground are dated c. 10th century AD. Neg. #83452. March
1932.
Figure 12 Mary-Helen Warden Schmidt. 1935.
Figure 13 View of the ruined bridge, dated AD 985 across the Kashgam River.
Neg.#83400, March 1932.
Figure 14 View of the ruined bridge, dated AD 985 across the Kashgam River.
Neg.#83400, March 1932.
Figure 15 View of the ruined bridge, dated AD 985 across the Kashgam River.
Neg.#83400, March 1932.
Figure 16 Modern tunnel across the Kashgam River. Neg.#83400, March 1932.
Figure 17 Threshing wheat with poles, a more primitive technology than the use of
a threshing board. Neg. #83375. July 1932.
Figure 18 Harvesting wheat manually, with a sickle, near Damghan. Neg.
#83374C. July 1932.
Figure 19 Mat maker in bazaar near Damghan. Neg. #83079. November 1931.
Figure 20a Minaret at Islamic site, Tari-Khaneh (House of God) excavations, near
Damghan. 1932.
Figure 20b Minaret and inscription at Islamic site, Tari-Khaneh (House of God)
excavations, near Damghan. 1932.
Figure 21a Fortified citadel of Hassanabad and recently deserted remains of mud-
brick village, c. 32 km south of Damghan. Neg. #82504. July 1931.
Figure 21b Fortified citadel of Hassanabad and recently deserted remains of mud-
brick village, c. 32 km south of Damghan. Neg. #82504. July 1931.
Figure 22 Visitors from Teheran to Tepe Hissar during a sightseeing trip: Mrs.
Streeper, the American Consul’s wife, between Mr. Upton (left) and Arthur Richards,
American Vice-Consul. Neg. #85318. November 1932.
Figure 23 Woman walking toward the entrance to bazaar, Dizful, Khuzistan prov-
ince. 1935.
Figure 24 Darvazah-i-Qur’an (Koran Gate) in the Tang-i-Allahu Akbar (Defile of
Allah the Most Great), Shiraz. Neg. #83460. April 1932.
Figure 25 Luristan, the expedition group exploring sites en route to the Neyaleh-
Saimarrah River valley. 1935.
Figure 26 Migrating nomads “iliats,” Qashgai people, from Bushire to Shiraz. Neg.
#83435B. March 1932.
Figure 27 People of Damghan. 1932.
Figure 28a One of the Shah’s palaces and its garden in Shimran, outskirts of Teheran.
Figure 28b One of the Shah’s palaces and its garden in Shimran, outskirts of Teheran.
Figure 29 Cyrus Baldridge sketching natives. Neg. #83362. July 1932.
Figure 30 Tepe Hissar workmen, sketched by Cyrus Baldridge, Damghan. July
1932.
Figure 31 Maidan Mosque, Baghdad. Neg. #101208. January 1931.
Figure 32 Teheran-Semnan road; donkeys carrying poplar trunks. Neg. #82577.
June 1931.
Figure 33 Tower of Silence (taken from above), Rayy, Chashma-Ali (Spring of Ali)
mound in background. Neg. #80929. June 1931.
Figure 34 The sacred precinct: tomb tower of Ghazan Khan (AD 1300), mausoleum
of Bustam Mirza and Kazim (with conical dome), Damghan. Neg. #82561-67. July
1931.
Figure 35 Islamic caravanserai northwest of Tepe Hissar. Neg. #83063A. November
1931.
Figure 36 Private Muslim graves near the Tomb of Zobaidah (wife of Harun al-
Rashid), Baghdad. Neg. #101210. January 1931.
Figure 37 Drying rugs in Cheshmeh-Ali (Spring of Ali) near Teheran. Neg. #83697B.
Summer 1932.
Figure 38 Tomb tower of Ghazan Khan (c. AD 1300). Neg. #82582-86, Bustam.
July 1931.
Figure 39 Truck stuck in low dunes during a trip to Fara–Warka (Uruk). February
1931.
Figure 40 Cylinder seal, c. 1000-900 BC, from Sorkh-I Dumi excavations,
Luristan. 1935.
Figure 41 Tomb of Fatimah (sister of Imam Riza), Qumm, Iran. Neg. #83390.
March 1932.
Figure 42 Masjid-I Shah, interior details of dome and tile work, Isfahan. Neg.
#83490D. April 1932.
Figure 43 Arab food vendors in street, Baghdad. Neg. #101234. January 1931.
Figure 44 Erskine White and Erich Schmidt cleaning a burial at Fara. Neg.
#101367. February 1931.
Figure 45 Village of Aliabad, between Teheran and Qumm. Note the ornamental
brickwork on watch towers. Neg. #83389. March 1932.
Figure 46 “Masjid-i Jumah aiwan” (Friday Mosque reception hall); the building
was begun in the 8th century, in the stalactite construction style. Neg. #83488.
April 1932.
Figure 47 The “ateshgah” (place of fire), a Zoroastrian temple west of Isfahan.
Neg. #83476A. April 1932.
Figure 48 Tomb of Zobaidah, Baghdad. Neg. #101217. January-February 1931.
Figure 49 Views of Main Street in Ahvaz (c. 100 km south of Dizful), Iran. Neg.
#83423. March 1932.
Figure 50 Hairpin curve blocked by trucks, Bushire-Shiraz. Neg. #83437. March
1932.
Figure 51 Find spot of storage pot P-8, as workmen pose near it, Fara. Neg.
#101411. February 1932.
Figure 52 “Goofa” (a special boat) on the Tigris River. Neg. #101229. January
1931.
Figure 53 Native Arab children, Baghdad. Neg. #101232. January 1931.
Figure 54 Camel at rest, Damghan. Neg. #83378. July 1932.
Figure 55 Tepe Hissar, general view of mound beneath rays of the setting sun.
Neg. #82650. July 1931.
Figure 56 Two boys posing with their Pahlavi “külah” hats, Damghan. Neg.
#82840. 1931.
Figure 57 View of Damghan from citadel. Neg. #80960. June 1931.
Figure 58 Tepe Hissar, first visit to the mound. Neg. #80961. June 1931.
Figure 59 Street market in Baghdad. 1929.
Figure 60 Street café in Baghdad. 1929.
Figure 61 Tepe Hissar, on a survey trip. 1931.
Figure 62 Forest workers in Mazandaran province, southern shore of the Caspian
Sea.
Figure 63 Village fortress, 62 km south of Khorramabad; to the left are black tents
of nomads and a herd of goats near the village enclosure, Luristan. Neg. #83399.
March 1932.
Figure 64 Cache of male figurines, duck figurine, and bowl in copper, c. 2500
BC, Tepe Hissar. Neg. #85302. September 1932.
Figure 65 Gold moufflons excavated from Treasure Hill, Tepe Hissar, dated to c.
2000 BC, created of thin sheet gold with seven pairs of perforations, probably sewn
on garments. September 1932.
Figure 66 Stone weight with wide loop handle c.2500 BC, Tepe Hissar. Neg.
#85154. August 1932.
Figure 67 Alabaster plate, c. 2500 BC, Tepe Hissar. 1932.
Figure 68 Alabaster column and disc, c. 2500 BC, Tepe Hissar. 1932.
Figure 69 Arab tribesmen waiting for employment, Fara. February 1931.
Figure 70 A beggar, near Damghan. 1932.
Figure 71 Copper signet ring with carved images of stylized palm tree flanked by
animals, along with its impression, c. 1000-900 BC, Sorkh Dum-i-Luri excavations,
Luristan. 1935.
Figure 72 Impression of cylinder seal of carved faience—two rampant winged
bulls flanking a stylized palm tree, c. 1000-900 BC, Sorkh Dum-i-Luri excavations,
Luristan. 1935.
Figure 73 Restored plaque of a female bust, a stucco from the Sasanian Palace,
c. 4th century, Damghan. 1931.
Figure 74 Woman at the gate of a prosperous house. Note the mud-plastered
high entrance, Damghan. Neg. #83972. 1932.
Figure 75a Convoy en route Teheran-Baghdad on snow-covered highway, near
the court of a caravanserai. Winter 1932.
Figure 75b Digging snow-covered highway, near the court of a caravanserai.
Winter 1932.
Figure 76 Goblet of baked clay, dark brown leopards on light grayish brown, c.
3500 BC, Tepe Hissar. Neg. #83206. February 1932.
Figure 77 Goblet of baked clay, dark gray paint on reddish buff, with ibex and
gazelle pattern, c. 3500 BC, Tepe Hissar. Neg. #83558. November 1931.
Figure 78 Alabaster hen figurine; feather and eyes are black-encrusted incisions,
beak is a red-filled hole, c. 2500 BC, Tepe Hissar. Neg. #83226-28. October 1931.
Figure 79 Alabaster bear figurine; red-encrusted incisions on back and muzzle;
eyes are black-encrusted concentric circles, c. 2500 BC, Tepe Hissar. Neg. #84902.
October 1931.
Figure 80 Jewelry of semiprecious stones, including lapis lazuli, turquoise, car-
nelian, and shell, from the grave of the “little girl,” c. 2500 BC, Tepe Hissar. From
an oil painting by Ivan Gerasimoff, 1932.
Figure 81 Erich F. Schmidt’s U.S. citizenship document.
Figure 82 Schmidt enjoying a game of chess with friends in his apartment in
Chicago, early 1940s. “I was told that at that time it was furnished mostly with
expedition boxes covered with fabulous oriental rugs and pillows. It certainly looks
that way. I have that beautiful chess table in my home now” (Erika Schmidt, pers.
comm., October 2006).
Figure 83 Schmidt entertaining guests in his Chicago apartment, c.1940.
Figure 84 Schmidt with his second wife, Lura Florence NeVoy Strawn, mid-
1940s.
Figure 85 Family and friends at Schmidt home, Lakeside, MI, 1948. From left:
Lura Schmidt, Erich Schmidt, and friends. Sitting in front are the Schmidt children,
Richard and Erika. “I believe we rented that cottage for a few summers” (Erika
Schmidt, pers. comm., October 2006).
Figure 86 Erich and Lura Schmidt at home.
Figure 87 Erika Schmidt visiting Persepolis in 1998.
Figure 88 Erich Schmidt, c. 1950.