Persian dolls on display at Saba Museum

TEHRAN,July 2(MNA) – The Saba Music Museum is hosting to an exhibition of rarely seen wax dolls in traditional Persian costumes. The exhibit, which runs on the sidelines of the 14th Tehran International Puppet Theater Festival (Mobarak), opened during a ceremony on Sunday. The dolls were created by Montakhab Esfandiar-e Kuh-e Nur, the wife of master musician Abolhassan Saba (1902-1957), and are on display at the museum located in the home where Saba lived and died. At the ceremony, the secretary of the festival, Ardeshir Salehpur, spoke about the dolls. The collection of dolls which were made by 16-year-old Montakhab are manifestations of Persian folk culture and their dresses manifest the diversity of Iranian regional culture during history, he said. “The incomparable reputation of Abolhassan Saba should not overshadow the artistic character of his wife,” he added. The dolls manifest kindness and virtue of Persian women which can be considered from anthropological view, salehpur mentioned. The museum houses a large collection of music instruments owned by Saba and a selection of donated instruments, letters handwritten by Saba, photos, personal items and a collection of dolls clad in Persian tribal costumes. Saba (1903-1957) was born in Tehran and learned Iranian music from his father, aunt's maid and in the classes of great masters of his time. Saba had a precise knowledge of the Western classical music when studying violin.