| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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 Interactive map of Bagh-e Chehel Sotun باغ چهلستون | |
| Location | Isfahan,Isfahan Province,Iran |
| Part of | The Persian Garden |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi) |
| Reference | 1372-003 |
| Inscription | 2011 (35thSession) |
| Area | 5.8 ha (620,000 sq ft) |
| Buffer zone | 28.92 ha (3,113,000 sq ft) |
| Coordinates | 32°39′27″N51°40′20″E / 32.65750°N 51.67222°E /32.65750; 51.67222 |
  Chehel Sotoun Location of Chehel Sotoun in Iran | |
Chehel Sotoun (Persian:چهلستون,lit. 'Forty Columns'[1]) is a 17th century pavilion and garden, inIsfahan,Iran. It was commissioned byAbbas the Great and completed byShah Abbas II, bothSafavid Shahs, mostly for royal entertainment and receptions. Chehel Sotoun Garden, along with eight other gardens all located in Iran, have been inscribed asPersian GardensWorld Heritage Sites since 2011.
As with theAli Qapu, the palace contains many frescoes and paintings on ceramic. Many of the ceramic panels have been dispersed and are now in the possession of major museums in the West. Four of the major frescoes are thought to have been painted circa 1650, and in any case between 1647 (date of the construction of the Chehel Sotoun) and 1666, based on stylistic grounds, and on the fact thatJean Chardin described the specific paintings as "three royal entertainments and one battle scene" during his visit in 1666.[2][3] They were commissioned by the Safavid rulerAbbas II. They are:[4]
There are also more recent paintings, generally dating toQajar period, such as the infamousBattle of Chaldiran against the Ottoman SultanSelim I, andNader Shah's victory against the Indian Army atKarnal in 1739. There are also less historical, but more aesthetic compositions in the traditional miniature style, themed around life, love, and joy.[5]
In the pavilion, the combined designs of the walls and ceiling of the hall, which are placed inLachak Toranj (corner and medallion), and the main lines of the building divisions, which are a combination of painting, tiling and other various decorations, make the building one of the best examples of Persian architecture during theSafavid era. At present, the mansion operates as a museum; and its central hall displays some works of art from different periods ofIran.[6]
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When Chardin visited the palace in 1666 he mentions seeing the four largest of them in the audience hall which he described as depicting three royal entertainments and one battle scene.' The evidence of Chardin's description is to some extent the basis for the common scholarly consensus that the large narrative paintings were added some twenty years after the completion of the building in 1647.
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