Tabatabaei House

🕰️When was it built?

Seyyed Jafar Tabatabaei Natanzi, a merchant of Kashan, commissioned the house from Master Ali Maryam Kashani around 1834 (1213 SH), and it took ten years to build. It is registered as a national monument under number 1504 and was restored to its original plan between 1995 and 1997.

🏛️What was it built for?

The owner was a carpet merchant, which is why the stucco patterns are taken from Persian carpets and the flower-and-bird arabesque. The house has four courtyards: the central one for the outer section, two for the inner section where the family lived, and one for the servants.

👀What you will see

• The great hall, or Shahneshin, has skylights and coloured latticed windows and is decorated with paintings, mirror work and stucco.
• In front of the Shahneshin is a terrace with striking mirror work and stucco.
• Two matching private courtyards on either side of the hall have painted panels.
• Under the inner section is a large cellar cooled by a wind tower, 15 to 20 degrees cooler than outside in summer.

💡Something interesting

The paintings and stucco of the house were made under the direction of Sani' al-Molk, chief painter of Naser al-Din Shah's court and a close friend of the owner. It is said that Seyyed Hassan Borujerdi had to build a house like this one to marry a daughter of this family; the Borujerdi House is the result of that condition.

🎒Good to know before you go