Marble Throne

The Marble Throne as it appears today

Drawing by Eugène Flandin

The Marble Throne (Persian: تخت مرمر, romanized: Taxt-e Marmar) is a 250-year-old royal throne in Golestan Palace, Tehran, Iran.

The throne was built from 1747 to 1751. It was designed by Mirza Baba Shirazi (Naqqash Bashi) and royal stonecutter, Mohammad Ebrahim Esfahani. It consists of 65 marble stone pieces from a mine in Yazd. The throne's supports are carved in the shape of men, women, fairies, and demons.

The Royal Balcony of the Marble Throne is said to be built during the reign of Karim Khan Zand, but Karim khan is known to have even refused the title king, and preferred to sit on a carpet rather than a throne so his ownership of the Marble throne is unlikely. It was changed several times during the Qajar period. The twin stone columns of the balcony were transferred to Tehran, by the order of Agha Mohammad Khan, from Shiraz.

The Sun Throne was probably modelled after it.

The throne is modeled after Persepolis where the legs are made in human shapes. In his book, "The History of Buildings in the Royal Citadel of Tehran", Yahya Zoka describes the construction of this Takht:

"As it was impossible to carry Tavus and Naderi Takhts, this Takht was made, modeled after Solomon the Prophet’s Takht who was the king of the Jews and was in possession of great power. [thus], as Fat′h-Ali Shah was compared to him as for his wealth and power, this throne was named Solomon’s Takht after the original throne of Solomon which is said to have been carried in the sky and flown by genies and fairies, and would land to the wish of Solomon. After the throne was put in terrace, the terrace was given the name Takht-e Marmar''.

External links

Media related to Marble Throne at Wikimedia Commons