The establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979 meant women were forced to wear the hijab and photographs of them uncovered were forbidden. As a result, many photographers’ studios were burnt to the ground, while remaining archives of invaluable glass-plate negatives were left to moulder in attics.

Parisa Damandan spent over ten years accumulating an impressive collection of pioneering photographs from the early twentieth century, in her hometown of Isfahan. Recently emancipated women posing in various state of dress, Polish war refugees on their tortuous journey home after fleeing the Nazis, men in fashionable hats or in traditional turbans and cloaks – these portraits offer a remarkable window on the changing face of Iranian society during a period of transition from a traditional to a modern culture.

Alongside these stunning images are essays on the development of portraiture in Isfahan, the social dimensions of portrait photography in Iran, and the power of the gaze.