(b Tehran, 1937). Iranian sculptor, painter, art historian and collector. He studied sculpture at the College of Fine Arts at Tehran University, graduating in 1956, and then attended the Accademia di Belle Arti in Carrara (1956–7) and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan (1958–9), where he worked under Marino Marini. In 1960 he began to teach at the College of Decorative Arts in Tehran, and in 1961 he was invited to the Minneapolis College of Arts and Design as a visiting artist, where he taught sculpture until 1963. In 1964 he returned to Tehran to teach sculpture at the College of Fine Arts. Primarily a sculptor, he worked with a range of materials, including bronze, copper, brass, scrap metal and clay. In the 1960s he contributed to the art movement in Iran known as SAQQAKHANA, and he made sculptures that were reminiscent of religious shrines and objects. Pairs of figures and fantastic birds were also common subjects. Themes from classical Persian literature also influenced him. He frequently rendered the word hich (nothing) as a sculpture in calligraphic form, using the word on a small scale for a ring and on a large scale for a sculpture in stainless steel (h. 3.35 m) on the campus of Hamline University, St Paul, MN, where he was visiting artist in 1971. The same year he made bronze gates for the tomb of Riza Shah in Rayy. He exhibited his work widely and received commissions from all over the world. He taught at art colleges and universities in Iran and the USA, retiring from his position of professor of sculpture at Tehran University in 1981. As an art historian he wrote books and articles on Iranian art, especially rugs and textiles. His writings, like his sculptures, demonstrate an awareness of the traditions of Iranian life gained from extensive travel to villages and tribal areas. He also formed collections of Islamic rugs, textiles, tools, locks and naive stonework.

• Tanavoli, Parviz
  • Iran, §2: Painting, sculpture and calligraphy
  • Islamic art, §III, 2(v): Calligraphy, after c 1800
  • Saqqakhana