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Alfiyah va shalfiyah
This manuscript is one of the class of works that goes by the generic title of 'Lizzat al-nisa’' or 'Women's pleasure.' It covers the use of medicinal drugs for personal beauty and as aphrodisiacs, and a manual explaining and illustrating various positions during sexual intercourse. The text ultimately derives from Sanskrit works such as the Kamasutra and Kokashastra. The manuscript is of Indian provenance, as is clear from the thirty-four illustrations executed in a popular nineteenth-century style. There is a personal seal, illegible, on the last page.
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50Images
Basat-i nishat
A sarcastic and male-centered essay in which noble women are "ugly" or old, and female slaves are pretty, kind and well-behaved.There are parts on men's desire for men and women's desire for women, vows of sisterhood, preparation of the bride and groom for the wedding night, wives and husbands relationships, etc. Parts of the document refer to Kulsum Nanah. At the end, there is a review of different types of pleasure according to their length.
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Complaint about wife's abduction, 1911
Panus Ibn Sulayman Kaldani (Chaldean) from Tabriz claims that Monsieur Gausine, a Belgian national who manages the customs department in Azarbayjan, has abducted the writer's wife
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Complaint, 1910
A complaint regarding Husayn's intercourse with Qurban's wife
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Flyer listing the drugs available at the Central Pharmacy of Tehran, 1894
Announcement from the drugstore owned by the pharmacist of his majesty [Nasir al-Din Shah] about the medicines currently available at the Central Pharmacy of Tehran, including the instructions, price, weight, and packaging information for each drug.
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Killing of man convicted of rape, 1911
He was shot by the police while attempting to escape confinement.
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Letter regarding a woman taking refuge
Regarding a woman who has run away and taken refuge at the house of the addressee in Isfahan; the writer asks for her return to the uncle. Referring to his previous letter, he expresses gratitude that the addressee has taken care of her and that she had been wise enough to go to him; it is as if she had taken refuge in her own house. The writer emphasizes that the matter should be dealt with according to the edicts of the shari‘a and sunna, especially on such a sensitive issue. If the man's family have a rightful claim, they should bring it forth; only if a settlement cannot be agreed upon,...
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52Images
Lizzat al-nisa’
Lizzat al-nisa’ or Women's Pleasure, written by Ziyaʼ al-Din Nakhshabi in the 8th century AH. The book includes 10 parts, covering such topics as the manners of intercourse and foods and medicines with aphrodisiac effects. It contains illustrated images of different intercourse positions. The text ultimately derives from Sanskrit works such as the Kamasutra and Kokashastra. The style of illustrations would indicate that the manuscript is possibly of nineteenth-century Indian provenance.
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Marriage contract and divorce settlement, 1884 and 1888
One side is the marriage contract of Baygum Jan, daughter of Sayyid Husayn son of Sayyid Nasr Allah, and Muhammad Isma‘il, son of the late Muhammad Riza Da’i. The mahr is sixty tumans, of which the groom paid thirty tumans in women's clothing, rugs, gold, and copper worth five tumans. The other thirty tumans remain the groom's debt. The other side is the divorce settlement of Baygum Jan, daughter of Sayyid Husayn from Gazirgah, and Ismaʻil, son of the late Riza Mushki-baf from Gazirgah. Baygum Jan settled her mahr, alimony, and clothing for twenty-five dirams [dirhams] and two copper coins...
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Marriage contract, settlement, and divorce agreement between Saltanat Khanum and Shahzadah ‘Abbas Mirza, 1910 and 1911
Marriage contract of Saltanat Khanum (known as Mukhbar al-Saltanah), daughter of Davud Mirza, and Shahzadah [prince] ‘Abbas Mirza, son of Haj Muhammad Mahdi Mirza, on March 15, 1910; the mahr includes a Qurʼan worth twenty-five tumans, one-twelfth of [illegible] ‘Abbas Abad village, five hundred tumans, a female Abyssinian slave worth one hundred and fifty tumans, and five mans [unit of weight] of silk. On April 1, 1910, Shahzadah ‘Abbas Mirza divorced Saltanat Khanum, and since the marriage was not consummated, her mahr was cut in half. Saltanat Khanum settled half of her original mahr,...