Isfahan: MRA-IRN-Isf021

Chehel Sotoun (Persian: “forty columns”) was built by Shah Abbas II in the 17^th century to serve as a luxurious reception hall and recreational pavilion. The name of the Safavid palace alludes to the twenty wooden columns at the building’s entrance, which, reflected in the fountains in front of it, seem to double. The interior of the pavilion includes extensive painted tile decoration, much of which is now exhibited in museums across the world. The style of the paintings is variable, and its themes include historical scenes of military feats as well as depictions of figures at leisure. Investigations by the Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente have also uncovered hitherto unknown mural paintings in the flanking chambers of the pavilion underneath a layer of whitewash. These frescoes depict scenes of nature and animals as well as banquet scenes, executed in the style of the courtly miniature paintings connected with Reżā ʿAbbāsī.

Sources:

https://iranicaonline.org/articles/cehel-sotun

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chehel_Sotoun

Further reading:

Kordi, F. (2015). Persian gardens in Indian Subcontinent and Comparing of the Shalimar garden and Chehel Sotoun. Asian Journal of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities, 5(7), 313-319.

Utaberta, N. U., Mamamni, H., Surat, M., Che-Ani, A. I., & Abdullah, N. A. G. (2012). The study on the development of ornamentation in the architecture of Safavid dynasty. Journal World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 67 2012, 632-636.