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New book: Letters in Silk Pouches
Letters in silk pouches were sent from Persia to Sweden in the 17th century as part of diplomatic and commercial contacts. In the book "Letters in Silk Pouches. Diplomatic Correspondence from the Safavid Court in the Swedish National Archives", authors Stanisław Adam Jaśkowski and Anna Jolly analyse the letters and silk pouches in their historical context.
In the 17th century, the Swedish crown sent three embassies to the Safavid court in Isfahan to negotiate a trade agreement for the export of Iranian raw silk to Stockholm. The diplomat Ludvig Fabritius led the Swedish delegations on their journeys and extended sojourns at the Persian court. After each embassy, a letter from the Shah of Persia to the King of Sweden was brought back to Stockholm.
These documents are today kept in the Swedish National Archives. Their composition and content reflect the formalised writing style of the Safavid chancellery. For transport the royal letters were folded and slipped into precious textile pouches which have also been preserved and were first published by the Swedish scholars Agnes Geijer and Carl Johan Lamm in 1944. The fabrics from which the pouches were made count among the most luxurious silk textiles produced in Safavid Iran. This monograph offers a detailed study of these Persian letters and silk pouches in their historical context and presents them as tangible evidence of two highly developed arts practised at the Iranian court, both conveying the splendour of their sovereign: the art of writing and the art of silk weaving.
Authors
Stanisław Adam Jaśkowski is assistant professor at the Department of Iranian Studies, Faculty of Asian and African Cultures, University of Warsaw, Poland.
Anna Jolly is curator of textiles from 1500 to 1800 at the Abegg-Stiftung in Riggisberg, Switzerland.
Book info
ISBN: 978-91-88763-71-6
ISBN: (PDF) 978-91-88763-72-3
ISSN: 0083-6761
176 pages
Published: 2026
Dutch bind (flexibound)
Series: Antikvariska serien 61
Price: 380 SEK
The volume is also available open access.
Distribution via Stardist. Order or download here.
Contact for more information
Ulrika Gustafsson, Head of Publications, Editor, Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien, ulrika.gustafsson@vitterhetsakademien.se
The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (Vitterhetsakademien) advances and funds research in the humanities and social sciences and in cultural heritage management. Its work is financed by donations and by public and private foundations. Vitterhetsakademien also owns and manages several historic buildings and sites: Skånelaholm Castle in Uppland, Stjernsund Castle in Närke, Rettig House in Stockholm (which houses Vitterhetsakademien’s offices), the villages of Stensjö in Småland and Borg on Öland, and the ruins of Gråborg on Öland.
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Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien har som sitt främsta syfte att främja och finansiera forskning inom humaniora och samhällsvetenskap samt kulturmiljövård. Vitterhetsakademien förvaltar också de egna kulturfastigheterna Skånelaholms slott, Stjernsunds slott, kulturreservatet Stensjö by, Borgs by och Rettigska huset i Stockholm. Vitterhetsakademiens förlag publicerar ett antal vetenskapliga skrifter varje år samt samarbetar med andra förlag. Läs mer på www.vitterhetsakademien.se.
