Beschreibung:

Mame Vatan, a promotional poster advertising the “Motherland” Iran, designed by Habib'ullah, printed by Hate & co. Lith. [Bombay, 1324 (1923-24)] single large chromolithographic poster, depicting some of the shahs of Ancient Persia (Darius the Great, Shapur and Nadir-Shah), alongside the Major General Reza Khan standing with Mame Vatan (Mother of the Homeland) in the shape of the country of Iran, rather creased and faded, some chips to edges with loss to main image, in modern card mount, 550 by 440 mm. and in modern frame; together with a smaller later printing of the same This is a rare and important poster documenting a turning point in Iranian history. It was the first poster to politically promote Reza Khan before he became the Shah of Iran, and was produced the year before he came to actual power, notably in India as its imagery was so politically loaded. It depicts Reza Khan standing proudly behind a depiction of Mame Vatan (Mother of the Homeland) as Iran, with her caped figure shaped in the outline of Iran. She is seen clasping a Qajar crown, overwritten with the cities Tehran and Isfahan (in spite of their geographical locations), and gazing up at the three Persian kings, Darius the Great, Shapoor and Nadir Shah. The iconography throughout is very nationalistic and proudly Persian with the Shir-o Khorshid, the Qajar flag and emblem of Cyrus the Great (the first Emperor of the Persian Empire). This poster was distributed immediately after the previous Shah, Ahmad Shah Qajar, had left the country for exile in Europe. Reza Khan was the prime minister of Iran during those turbulent final years of the Qajar Dynasty and appointed himself, backed by Iran's constituent assembly, to become the next Shah and the first of the Pahlavi dynasty. This poster of 1924 was part of the campaign to promote him as the best political candidate, and was probably printed by private commission by Reza Khan himself.