About

Kianoosh Motaghedi

Researcher and art historian in Islamic Art | Curator | Writer
📧 kianooshart@gmail.com
🌐 www.kianooshart.com

https://kashanu.academia.edu/kianooshMotaghedi

About

Kianoosh Motaghedi is an independent researcher and art historian in Islamic art, curator and writer specializing in Iranian and Persian art, with particular expertise in Qajar-era visual culture, Persian carpets, ceramics, manuscripts, and Islamic codicology. His work bridges academic research and museum practice, focusing on exhibition curation, collection research, cataloguing, and scholarly publishing.

He has collaborated with major museums and cultural institutions in Iran and Europe, including the National Carpet Museum of Iran, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Reza Abbasi Museum, Musée du Louvre, and Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac.

Curatorial & Museum Experience

Selected Curatorial Projects

  • Pictorial Carpets from the Qajar Era
    National Carpet Museum of Iran, Tehran — March–April 2024
    Curator and Researcher
  • Carpetography
    Akskhaneh Photography Museum of Iran, Tehran — February–April 2024
    Curator and Researcher
  • Mirrored Reflections
    Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Tehran — February–March 2022
    Curator and Researcher
  • Calligraphic Paintings from the Qajar Era
    Reza Abbasi Museum, Tehran — November 2019–February 2020
    Curator and Researcher

Museum Research & Collection Work

  • Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris — June–July 2018
    Researcher and Assistant, Middle East Department
    (Cataloguing and research on Iranian artworks)
  • Musée du Louvre / Louvre-Lens, France — May–June 2017
    Researcher and Assistant Curator
    L’Empire des Roses: Art of Qajar Iran

Research, Teaching & Professional Activities

  • Expert and catalogue writer, Tehran Auction (2017–2024) and Ravi Auction (2025-2026)
  • Lecturer in History of Persian Art and Architecture (2014–2024)
  • Researcher on Persian manuscripts at the National Library of Iran, Astan-e Qods Razavi Library (Mashhad), and Malek Museum and Library, Tehran (2013–2019)

Education

  • M.A. in Persian Carpet Studies, Kashan University — expected 2026
  • B.A. in Persian Carpet Design and History — 2024
  • Honorable Master’s Degree in Ceramic Art and Crafts, Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (Iran) — 2015
  • Summer School Programs (Linguistics), Leiden University, Netherlands — 2009, 2010, 2011

Fellowships & Awards

  • Ebrahimi Fellowship for Persian Art, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art (2024–2025)
  • Soudavar Memorial Foundation Grant in Iranian Studies (2021)
  • Research Fellowships at Musée du Quai Branly (2018) and Musée du Louvre (2017)
  • Selected Article, Islamic Codicology, National Library of Iran — 2013
  • First prizes and awards in Islamic illumination and contemporary ceramic art (2007–2009)
  • First Prize, Islamic Illumination, Quranic Illumination Festival, Mashhad — 2009

Publications

Books

  • Negarsetan Khaqan (Palaces From Fath ‘Ali Shah Era). Danyar Publications, 2025
  • Tile and Tile Makers of Tehran in the Qajar Era. Danyar Publications, 2022
  • From Golestan Garden to Golestan Palace. Danyar Publications, 2021
  • Farmaraz Pillaram: Life and Artworks. Nazar Publications, 2021
  • The Masahif Treasure of Mahan. Bahonar University Press, 2020
  • Tehran’s Old Gates. Cultural Research Publications, 2020
  • Calligraphic Painting of the Qajar Era: Works from the Reza Abbasi Museum. Ketab Araei, 2019
  • Persian Ceramic Mihrabs. Sazman-e Zibasazi Tehran, 2018
  • The Warraq Ghaznavi Family. Peikareh Publications, 2016
  • Nasta‘liq Inscriptions of Tehran. Sazman-e Zibasazi Tehran, 2015
  • The Tahir Kashani Family. Peikareh Publications, 2014
  • The Ruzbihan Shirazi Family. Peikareh Publications, 2013

Translations (English → Persian)

  • Soudavar, Abolala. The Great Ilkhanid Shahnameh, Maan Publications, 2025.
  • Soudavar, Abolala. Iranian Complexities. Maan Publications, 2024.
  • Farhad, Massumeh. A Collector’s Passion. Maan Publications, 2023.
  • Diba, Layla. Royal Persian Paintings. Maan Publications, 2022.
  • Yoshida, Mitsukuni. In Search of Persian Pottery. Khatt-o-Tarh, 2021.
  • Smith, Robert Murdoch. Persian Art. Khatt-o-Tarh, 2020.

Articles

  • “Reviving the Concept of the Sasanian Kingdom in Qajar Rock Reliefs.”
    Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C., 2022.
  • “From Chehel Sotun to the ‘Emārat-e Divāni of Qom.”
    The Idea of Iran, Vol. 11, I.B. Tauris, 2022.
  • “Female Iranian Ceramists: From Modernism to the Present.”
    ICANAS Congress, Geneva, 2021.
  • Author of 50+ scholarly articles in Farsi on Iranian art and Islamic codicology

Skills & Expertise

  • Museum collection research and cataloguing (MuseumPlus, TMS)
  • Exhibition curation and catalogue writing
  • Teaching Persian calligraphy and illumination
  • Islamic codicology and manuscript studies
  • Academic writing, translation, and art criticism

Languages

  • Persian (native)
  • English (excellent professional proficiency)