Museum of Light and Illumination

The importance of light in human life is so great that some Eastern religions consider it sacred and have recommended certain customs for honoring it. Light has an allegorical aspect in oriental architecture and literature, and many stories have been created around it. Perhaps this is the reason that a museum by the name of “Museum of Light and Ligh Illumination” was founded in Yazd City of Iran!

Museum of Light and Ligh Illumination of Yazd, which is also referred to as Mirror Palace and is considered one of the 20 active museums of this city, was originally a private guest house in the past. This site was inscribed on the list of Iran’s national heritage in the year 1999 AD.

History

This building was constructed by a person by the name of Sarrafzadeh, who was one of the famous businessmen of Yazd and also a member of the Legislative Assembly of the time, in the year 1941 AH. The building was used as a private guest house for many years after its construction and after the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 AD it was converted into a museum.

Architecture

This place is, in fact, a kiosk (kushk in Persian). Kushk was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides. The area of the garden is 8174 square meters and the infrastructure of the building is 837 square meters. The beautiful courtyard in the center of the place with a large swimming pool has made the beauty of the place indescribable.

The main building of the so-called Mirror Palace has several rooms facing the pool. This part of the mansion was used as the spring living room. A fusion of Iranian and European architecture can be seen in the construction of this building. The long corridors in the mansion show the influence of the European architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, the use of light and mirrors to decorate the rooms reflects the skills of Iranian architects.

The rooms of the mansion have colorful mesh doors and windows and look very beautiful from the outside. The plaster and mirror work of each room are very eye-catching and beautiful paintings by famous Iranian artists can be seen on the walls.

An alcove, a pond hall, bedrooms, and interconnected corridors are other parts of this building, and the architecture and decorations of the pond hall are different from other parts of the building. A very beautiful stone pond can be seen in the middle of the pond hall. The ceiling decorations and wall paintings of this hall are very spectacular. This pond hall is now used as a gallery to hold art exhibitions.

This mansion can be considered one of the modern examples of Iranian art of architects in which plaster and mirror work as well as wall paintings are in perfect alignment with the beautiful facade of wooden doors and colorful windows. This alignment can be seen both in the interior and on the exterior of the building.

Objects Displayed in the Museum of Light and Illumination

This museum is composed of different sections to display historical and cultural works and objects with a focus on the visual and spiritual aspects of light.124 historical objects made of pottery, glass, brass, and copper are preserved in several sections of this museum. The most interesting part of the museum is the section in which lighting and illuminating items are kept. In this section, all kinds of tallow lights, installed lights, hanging lights, stand lights, hand lights, oil and gas lights, and electrical appliances are on display. The tallow burners in this section are the oldest objects of the museum.

Old manuscripts, coins, books, stamps, weapons, locks, and horse reins (an item from the second millennium BC), are samples of bronze tools and different types of mirrors are other must-see objects of the Museum of Light and Illumination.

Most of the works displayed in this museum are of the category of light production devices or devices related to lighting. Antique portico, Khamse portico, Afrang portico, Noor portico, Meshkat portico, Velvet portico, Landscape portico, Mirror portico and Water portico are different parts of this museum.

Museum of Light and Ligh Illumination of Yazd, which is also referred to as Mirror Palace and is considered one of the 20 active museums of this city, was originally a private guest house in the past. This site was inscribed on the list of Iran’s national heritage in the year 1999 AD.