A masterpiece of Safavid illumination was the Shah Namah of Shah Tamasp, which incorporates the greatest developments in painting of the early 1520s to the mid-1530s (published in facsimile as The King's Book of Kings, 1972).Later DevelopmentsIn the 17th-century Persian art fell under European and Indian influences and rapidly degenerated. Under the Qajar dynasty (1779-1925) a distinctive, theatrical style was developed in architecture, painting, and the decorative arts. The so-called Neo-Achaemenid style, which characterizes the public buildings of modern Tehran, points to a conscious effort at reviving and integrating the ancient heritage in modern Iran.BibliographySee Denise Schmandt-Besserat, Ancient Persia: The Art of an Empire (1980)....
