Meet The Beauty Symbol of Persia From The 1900s

Feast your eyes on princess Zahra Khanom Tadj es-Saltaneh (1883 – 1936) who was considered the ultimate symbol of beauty in Persia during the early 1900s. So much in fact, the rumor has it that a total of 13 young men killed themselves because she rejected their love.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

The definition of beauty has changed drastically over the time. In 19th century Persia, the Western beauty standards were not dominant. So of course, they had beauty standards of their own. The more masculine a woman was, the more beautiful she was considered. The opposite was also true for men.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

This woman was considered beautiful in Persia in 1900s.

36 thoughts on “Meet The Beauty Symbol of Persia From The 1900s”

  1. “The definition of beauty has changed drastically.” An often heard assertion that does not become more true through repetition. The personal fetish of some artists and painters is then often used as proof that a whole epoch stood for morbidly obese people. The truth is that trendy hypes have little influence on the favouritism of a certain body image. With fashion = clothes, it looks quite different.

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  2. Obviously an heiress to a massive fortune, which is why dejected suitors offed themselves.

    Either that or a lot of guys were into tubs of lard with a unibrow and a mustache.

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  3. This may very well be the influence behind the Instagram uni brow trend a few posts below, much like the condition Steatopygia possibly had / has on the desire for large posteriors…pure speculation, but an amazing coincidence.

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  4. Probably the most bizarre costuming that I can’t reference. The short culotte skirts seem much more child like and something the clerics would have had her stoned for.

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  5. From Wikipedia: “Taj Saltaneh was a trailblazer for women’s rights in Iran and a feminist. She was a prominent founding member of Iran’s underground women’s rights group Anjoman Horriyyat Nsevan or Women’s Freedom Association (the Society of Women’s Freedom), working for equal rights for women circa 1910. She secretly organized and attended underground women’s rights meetings telling her children and grandchildren that she was attending religious sessions. She once led a women’s rights march to parliament and was an avid supporter of Iran’s constitution revolution.
    She was a writer, a painter, an intellectual, and an activist who hosted literary salons at her house once a week. She was fluent in Arabic and French and played the violin. She was the first woman in court to take off the hijab and wear western clothes. The first to write a memoir and a vocal critic of the monarchy- her father Naser el-Din Shah and brother Mozafar el-Din Shah’s rule. She blamed many of Iran’s problems then, including poverty, lack of education for masses and women’s rights, on incompetent monarchs. Her voice was a lone female voice advocating for change and democracy.”
    Sounds like pretty amazing person to me. But of course, I’m one of those idiots who believes what people think and do is far more important than how they look.

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  6. Let me guess – this post was written by a white bloke?
    She was actually a trailblazing writer, painter, intellectual, and activist.
    But hey, she wasn’t super ‘hot’, so let’s make a joke about that. Lame efforts folks

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  7. Maybe this website should be split into two sections… one titled Sad & Useless for people with a sense of humour, and one titled Kittens & Rainbows for those that are actually offended by everything they don’t find funny. I didn’t find this post funny either, but definitely not offensive, so I’ll stick to the former.

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  8. I honest to god do not see the difference between her and the women nowadays who don’t shave their armpits and legs and grow a unibrow.

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  9. She’s terrific,- had all that prestige, intelligence and courage. Probably a good sense of humour as well…The moustache, yes, could go somewhere else, but all things considered, she was hip!

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  10. Wow, she seemed to be very daring for her times! That short skirt would get her whipped under strict Sharia Law. In fact, the one with the dress of the should look could also get her in deep trouble. I’m sure any woman who flaunts her female sensuality in public could definitely get her beaten to a pulp in present day Iran!

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  11. Photoshopped–photos from somewhat more reputable sites show a similarity, but these don’t look right. She adopted Western fashions–but bare legs? I don’t think so. She was a remarkable woman for her forward thinking and courage–and a perfect target for idiots on the internet. Grow up.

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  12. @Tim: virtual signal much? Easiest, cheapest way to get likes today is to hate white guys, it seems.

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  13. I guess beauty in the things she done. You can admire people other than the physical aspect. Judgements are so harsh, so unkind, without people taking time to really see others. Most of this name calling is childlike and people need to “grow up”…if possible in this day and time.

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  14. guys… she didn’t choose look like that geez ya’ll ate so brutal 😂😂 anyways she might look questionable to us but stop bashing her yikes

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  15. I am of Persian heritage and my grandma must have been alive during that era. My grandma was actually upper middle class, and was very much aware of the beauty trends. At no time did anyone favor a woman that looked like a man. In fact, Iran was a vanguard of “hair removal” for woman before lazer hair removal came around, since Iran had such a long history of woman removing body hair. The young girl standing above the princess in that last photo is closer to what Iranian women must have looked like back in the day.

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  16. Actually , this article should be renamed to : “Meet the beauty symbol of the Qajar ( Turkoman dynasty) that ruled and basically occupied the land of Persia in the 19 th century”. These are not Persian women , they are Turkoman ,and they had their own cultural beauty standards which was different from Persians . If you’re seeking for Persian beauty standards you should ancient Greek reports about Achaemenid queens such as queen Proshat of Persia. Or read Sassanid sources about their standards of the female anatomy and curves.

  17. you are just jealous that the persians are the most blessed and beautiful people on earth both from inside and out.

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  18. Iranian women were not like this at that time. I am an Iranian and I know very well that the king of that time was fond of fat women with mustaches, that’s why the court was full of such women.

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