Ma‛ārefī, Hussein

Ma‛ārefī, Hussein, a distinguished traditional architect and renowned restorer of historic monuments in Isfahan.

He was born in 1893/1272 in Muhammad-ābād village in Jarqūye*, locates in the areas of Isfahan .¹ His paternal grandfather, his father Ghulām-Ali, and his maternal uncles—Ahmad Mu‛tamed, known as Mu‛tamed al-Bannā, Esmā‛īl Me‛mār (architect of Ẓell al-Sulṭān), and Ali-Akbar Me‛mār—were all prominent architects.² It is said that Ma‛ārefī began his architectural training under his father’s supervision at the age of ten.³ He lost his father at the age of twelve and soon afterwards began working in the construction workshops in his native town.⁴ One of the earliest buildings in whose construction he is said to have participated during his youth was the Rukn al-Mulk Mosque* in Takht-e Fulād cemetry.⁵ At the age of twenty-eight (1920/1299), he moved to Abadan, where he worked for about three years alongside his uncles Ahmad and Ali-Akbar, who were architectural contractors for the Oil Company;⁶ this period proved highly valuable for his professional training. According to Ahmad-Ali Beshārat* (d. 2012/1391), Ma‛ārefī also worked for a time as a road-construction contractor,⁷ but eventually found work outside Isfahan unsatisfactory and returned to his hometown.⁸ During this period, he was commonly known by the surname Mu‛tamadī, after that of his relatives.⁹

At the time the Department of Education (Ma‛āref) and Fine Arts was established in Isfahan, Ma‛ārefī began working with the department through Mīrzā Mahdī-Khan Irānī, Mīrzā Hussein-Khan Umīd, and Ṣādeq-Khan Fāṭemī (d. 1976/1355), and undertook the repair of several buildings. One of his projects during this period was the revitalization of the Imam jumʽa house, the official one, which later became Bū Esḥāqīye madrasa.¹⁰ Gradually, because of his close relation to the Department of Education (Ma‛āref), he became known as Ma‛ārefī and consequently changed his surname to Ma‛ārefī.¹¹ From 1930/1309, following the establishment of the Archaeology Branch within the Isfahan Department of Education, Ma‛ārefī concentrated his activities on the restoration of historic buildings. A self-taught architect, he drew, on the one hand, upon his experience and knowledge of Iranian traditional architecture and structures and, on the other, upon his earlier experience with the Oil Company and his work with the modern structures and materials of the period. He thus attained considerable proficiency in both traditional and modern architecture, which elevated him to the position of the foremost traditional architect of the Department of Education, Endowments, and Fine Arts. In addition to working as a construction contractor, cost estimator, and architectural supervisor in the construction of new buildings commissioned by the Ministry of Education and the Society for National Heritage, Ma‛ārefī was also widely known, particularly in Isfahan, as a restorer of historic buildings. Although his restorations were sometimes criticized in later periods for excessive intervention in the buildings and for his methods of execution, most of his interventions have been regarded as necessary for saving the monuments.¹²

Ma‛ārefī’s first major project was the repair and reconstruction of the eastern minaret of the Munār Junbān* up to the roofline (1923/1302).¹³ Among his best-known and most significant achievements was the restoration of parts of the Jāme‛ ‛Abbāsī Mosque* in Isfahan, a project that required many years to complete. The twin minarets of the mosque’s southern vaulted hall (eyvān) had tilted out of plumb, while the eyvān itself had a major crack, raising the possibility that the mosque’s tile revetment might collapse. For this reason, between 1932/1311 and 1934/1313, Ma‛ārefī employed an innovative system of iron reinforcement together with several cranes to restore both the minarets and the eyvān to their original alignment. He also spent an entire year securing the tiles with metal pins, thereby preventing the collapse of the tile decoration of the eyvān towards the qibla.¹⁴ It is widely said that, in order to finance the restoration of the mosque, Ma‛ārefī sold his own house and subsequently moved first to a residence on Neshāṭ Street and later to Ṭūqchī* neighborhood.¹⁵ In addition to restoring the eyvān, he repaired the vault and the mosaic-faience* decoration of the mosque’s entrance main portal, as well as the tilework above the stone basin* (1937/1316);¹⁶ cleared the debris from the mosque’s stairways (1939/1318);¹⁷ supervised the restoration of the southern domed chamber, including the installation of an iron tie around the haunch of the dome;¹⁸ prepared a negative mould of the dome for the restoration of the tiles (completed in 1941/1320);¹⁹ renewed the inscription around the drum of the dome (January 1950/Dey 1328);²⁰ repaired the exterior tilework and consolidated the stone dados of the Suleymānīye madrasa on the mosque’s southwestern wing; supplied and laid the stone paving of the vaulted halls (1957/1336);²¹ and poured concrete to repair the structural arches on the western side of the prayer hall facing the alley. He is also credited with these works. Finally, with the renewed restoration of the entrance portal, its forecourt, the twin minarets, and the installation of the tilework on the rear façade of the main portal of the Jāme‛ ‛Abbāsī Mosque in 1960/1339, the restoration of the mosque was brought to completion.²²

Ma‛ārefī also collaborated with Ali Manshaʾī (d. 1970/1349) and the engineer Ali Rīyāḍī in preparing the restoration plan for and carrying out the restoration of the madrasa and the Portico of ‛Umar (or Muẓaffarī eyvān) on the western wing of the Jāme‛ ‛Atīq Mosque*, as well as the eastern prayer hall,²³ and in supervising the restoration of the Uljāytū meḥrāb.²⁴ He was also responsible for repairing and reconstructing the buttress of the mosque’s passageway of the dome chamber in the Sheikh Luṭfullāh Mosque* (1934/1313) and for restoring the tile decoration of its dome and the metal finial crowning it (1935–1943/1314–1322).²⁵ He also laid the stone paving in front of the mosque, refurbished and repaired its underground prayer hall, and later (probably in 1959/1338, together with Manshaʾī) prepared the restoration design and executed the tile revetment of the entrance portal and its façade, most of which had already demolished.²⁶ From 1935/1314, he restored the entrance to the Jadde-ye Kūchak madrasa*, together with the brick paving of its roof, courtyard, and lateral rooms.²⁷ His other restoration projects included dismantling and reinstalling approximately twenty meters of the minaret of the Masjed Ali* (together with Manshaʾī),²⁸ repairing its underground prayer hall and the tile revetment of its entrance portal,²⁹ laying the stone paving of the Jāme‛ ‛Atīq Mosque, supervising the paving of Naqsh-e Jahān Square*,³⁰ restoring the Sīn Mosque and its minaret (according to the inscription inside the building, 1948/1327), completing the restoration of the Munār Junbān (together with Manshaʾī in 1959/1338),³¹ restoring the principal girder of Chehel-Sutūn* portico (tālār), the roof covering of its eyvān, and its drainage channels and gutters (together with Manshaʾī in 1960/1339),³² preparing a conservation plan for the columns of the eyvān of ‛Ālī Qāpū* (together with Manshaʾī in 1963/1342),³³ restoring the structure and tile revetment of the Qeyṣarīyye Portal*,³⁴ removing later alterations from the entrance portal of the Jūrjīr mosque (or Masjed Ḥakīm*) and removing the added public water shrine (saqqā-khāne) attached to it,³⁵ restoring Emāmzāde Ja‛far* mausoleum,³⁶ restoring the dome of Hārūn-e Velāyat* mausoleum together with the rooms of the domed chamber,³⁷ completing the unfinished restoration of the minaret of the Kh^vāje ‛Alam Mosque,³⁸ removing later additions from the revetments of the Ashraf Hall,³⁹ restoring the Bābā Qāsem mausoleum*, the Emāmī madrasa*, and underpinning and carrying out the major restoration of the Pīr Bakrān mausoleum*.⁴⁰ Ma‛ārefī also participated in the underpinning and restoration of the Sheikh Abū Mas‛ūd Rāzī mausolem,⁴¹ the underpinning of the dome of Sulṭān-Bukht Āghā*,⁴² the structural consolidation of the Sārebān minaret,⁴³ and the restoration of the Jāme‛ Mosque of Ushturjān*, the Jāme‛ Mosque of Nāʾīn*, the Jāme‛ Mosque of Zavvāre*, the Jāme‛ Mosque of Ardestān*,⁴⁴ the Kāj Mosque,⁴⁵ and other numerous monuments.⁴⁶ It is also noteworthy that, while directing restoration projects in Isfahan, Ma‛ārefī had earned the confidence and professional esteem of André Godard* (d. 1965/1344) and Arthur Upham Pope (d. 1969/1348), and other architects.⁴⁷ He consequently participated in the restoration of monuments in other provinces of Iran, including serving as a consultant for the restoration of the Sulṭānīyye Dome and monuments in Fārs,⁴⁸ and restoring the Sheikh Ṣafī al-Dīn Ardabīlī complex in 1935/1314, together with several tile makers and tile cutters from Isfahan, including the installation of iron reinforcement and the repair of its damaged roof.⁴⁹

Another of Ma‛ārefī’s activities, carried out during the directorship of Javād Majdzāde Ṣahbā* (d. 1945/1324) and in collaboration with him, was the emergency conservation and preservation of the tiled inscriptions and decorations of monuments that were demolished during the modern urban development of Isfahan (1921–1951/1300–1330). Among these was the entrance portal of the Quṭbīyye Mosque*, whose tiles were carefully removed before the structure was demolished (1937/1316) and were subsequently reinstalled (1941/1320) on a newly constructed portal erected on the southern side of the Chehel-Sutūn Garden.⁵⁰ The same procedure was followed for the tiles of the Darb Kūshk gateway (ca.⁵¹ 1947/1326).⁵² He also salvaged the inscription of the entrance portal of the Pīr Pīne-dūz Mosque, which, after being uncovered from beneath later additions, was mounted on a wall in Chehel-Sutūn.⁵³

In 1964/1343, Ma‛ārefī travelled to Iraq as a member of a committee of experts, including Moḥsen Furūghī (d. 1984/1362) and Hūshang Seyḥūn (d. 2014/1393), to undertake the restoration of the Arch of Ctesiphon (Eyvān-e Madāʾen).⁵⁴ In 1970/1349, he also collaborated with Ali Manshaʾī and Ali Rīyāḍī in preparing the restoration plan for and carrying out the installation of iron tie-rods in the reinforcement project of western eyvān of the Jāme‛-e ‛Atīq Mosque.⁵⁵

Among Ma‛ārefī’s other activities was the construction of new buildings for the Isfahan Department of Education, including the execution of the architectural work of the Sa‛dī High School* from 1935 to 1937/1314–1316, in collaboration with Seyfullāh Tajaddudkhāh (d. 1986/1365),⁵⁶ the execution of the architectural work of the Maryam Beygum School (1935/1314), and the reconstruction of the Kalbāsī School and the Mellīyye School. He also supervised and provided technical oversight for the construction of the Ṣāʾeb Mausoleum* from 1963 to 1967/1342–1346,⁵⁷ and supervised the execution of the architectural work of Arthur Pope’s tomb near the Kh^vājū Bridge (1970–1972/1349–1351), based on a design by Muḥsen Furūghī.⁵⁸

In the final years of his life, Ma‛ārefī get infected by a serious eye disease. The Ministry of Culture and Arts sent him to London for eye surgery, where he fortunately recovered his eyesight.⁵⁹ Photos belong to the final years of his life, nevertheless, show him continuing his restoration work while wearing very thick spectacles. His last restoration project was the Settī Fāṭeme mausoleum. Ma‛ārefī died on December 23, 1975/2 Dey 1354 and was buried in the Ma‛ārefī family tomb in Takht-e Fulād cemetery, beside the al-Ḥusseynī Mosque, which he himself had endowed and built (1972/1351),⁶⁰ alongside several members of his family. In September 1976/Shahrīvar 1355, a number of his colleagues in the Department of Archaeology and the Ministry of Education commemorated him in a special issue of the journal āgāhī-nāme, publishing articles in his honor.⁶¹

/Amir-Hossein Karimy/

Bibliography

Afsar, Karāmatullāh, and Aḥmad Mūsavī, pāsdārī az āthār-e bāstānī dar ‛aṣr-e Pahlavi, Tehran: Vezārat-e Farhang va Hunar, 1976/1355.

Baḥr al-‛Ulūmī, Hussein, kārnāme-ye anjuman-e āthār-e mellī az āghāz tā 2535 Shāhanshāhī (1355/1976), Tehran: Anjuman-e Āthār-e Mellī, 1976/1355.

Beheshtīyān, ‛Abbās, “ma‛ārefī besyārī az banāhā-ye bāstānī rā az khaṭar-e vīrānī nejāt dād,” āgāhī-nāme sāzmān-e mellī-ye ḥefāẓat-e āthār-e bāstānī-ye Iran, 10, October 1976/Mehr 1355.

Beshārat, Aḥmad-Ali, “ma‛ārefī ensānī khastegī-nāpazīr,” āgāhī-nāme sāzmān-e mellī-ye ḥefāẓat-e āthār-e bāstānī-ye Iran, 9, September 1976/Shahrīvar 1355.

Beshārat, Aḥmad-Ali, mīrāth-e farhangī-ye Isfahan be revāyat-e Aḥmad-Ali Beshārat, edited by Mas‛ūd Sayyed-Bunakdār, Isfahan: Naqsh-e Mānā, 2022/1401.

Emāmzāde, Tāj al-Dīn, guzāresh-e sākhtemān-e dabīrestān-e Sa‛dī Espahān, Isfahan: Sherkat-e Sahāmī Chāpkhāne Furūgh, 1937/1316.

Jāberī Anṣārī, Hasan, tārīkh-e Isfahan, ed. Jamshīd Maẓāherī, Isfahan: Mash‛al, 1999/1378.

Meshkūtī, Nuṣratullāh, “mardī mehrabān va furūtan,” āgāhī-nāme sāzmān-e mellī-ye ḥefāẓat-e āthār-e bāstānī-ye Iran, 9, September 1976/Shahrīvar 1355.

Muṣṭafavī, Muhammad-Taqī, “ustād-e buzurg (Ma‛ārefī laḥẓe-ye suqūṭ-e yek manāre-ye qadīmī rā daqīqan muḥāsebe va e‛lām kard),” āgāhī-nāme sāzmān-e mellī-ye ḥefāẓat-e āthār-e bāstānī-ye Iran, 9, September 1976/Shahrīvar 1355.

Muṣṭafavī, Muhammad-Taqī, majmū‛e-ye maqālāt (dar zamīne-ye bāstān-shenāsī), collected by Mahdī Ṣadrī, 2, Tehran: Anjuman Āthār va Mafākher-e Farhangī, 2004/1383.

Nīkzād Amīr-Husseinī, Karīm, tārīkhche-ye abnīye tārīkhī-ye Isfahan, Isfahan: Dād, 1956/1335.

Ravānbad, Hussein, “ustādī vāraste va āgāh,” āgāhī-nāme sāzmān-e mellī-ye ḥefāẓat-e āthār-e bāstānī-ye Iran, no. 9, September 1976/Shahrīvar 1355.

Sajjādī Nāʾīnī, Mahdī, “ustād Hussein Ma‛ārefī me‛mār-e sunnati-ye Isfahan,” farhang-e Isfahan, 19, Spring 2001/1380.

Sajjādī Nāʾīnī, Mahdī, me‛mārān va merammatgarān-e sunnati-ye Isfahan, ed. Gītī Āzarmehr, Isfahan: Sāzmān-e Farhangī Tafrīḥī-ye Shahrdārī, 2008/1387.

Sayyed-Bunakdār, Mas‛ūd, tārīkh taḥavvulāt-e sīyāsī-e ejtemā‛ī-ye shahr-e Isfahan dar dawre-ye Pahlavī-ye avval, Isfahan: Sāzmān Farhangī Tafrīḥī-ye Shahrdārī, 2019/1398.

tārīkhche-ye sākhtemānhā va ta‛mīrāt-e ma‛ārefī va awqāfī dar do sāl-e 1313 va 1314 (supplement to the yearbooks of 1312–1313 and 1313–1314), [Tehran]: Vezārat Ma‛āref va Awqāf va Ṣanāye‛-e Mustaẓrefe, Edāre-ye Kull-e Enṭebā‛āt, [1935/1314].

“ustād Hussein Ma‛ārefī me‛mār-e banāhā-ye tārīkhī khāne-ye khud rā furūkht tā ta‛mīr-e eyvān-e masjed-e Shah rā be pāyān beresānad,” āgāhī-nāme sāzmān-e mellī-ye ḥefāẓat-e āthār-e bāstānī-ye Iran, 2, February 1976/ Bahman 1354.

Varjāvand, Parvīz, “chegūne masjed-e Shah az enhedām nejāt yāft: yādī az me‛mārī-ye buzurg-e shādravān ustād Hussein Ma‛ārefī,” hunar va mardum, 164, June 1976/Khurdād 1355.

Varjāvand, Parvīz, “negāhī be pīshīne-ye ta‛mīr-e barkhī az banāhā-ye tārīkhī-ye Isfahan: yādī az shādravān ustād Ma‛ārefī me‛mār-e banāhā-ye tārīkhī 2,” hunar va mardum, 175, May 1977/Urdībehesht 1356.

1. Varjāvand, 1976/1355, p. 4. He identifies Isfahan as Ma‛ārefī’s birthplace, which does not appear to be correct.[↩]
2. Ibid.[↩]
3. Ibid.[↩]
4. Sajjādī Nāʾīnī, 2001/1380, p. 92.[↩]
5. Varjāvand, 1976/1355, p. 4. Most of the inscriptions of the Rukn al-Mulk Mosque date from 1942–1945/1321–1324, indicating that Ma‛ārefī was between eleven and fourteen years old at the time.[↩]
6. Beheshtīyān, p. 6.[↩]
7. Beshārat, 2022/1401, p. 33.[↩]
8. Varjāvand, 1976/1355, p. 4.[↩]
9. Beheshtīyān, p. 6.[↩]
10. Varjāvand, 1976/1355, p. 5; Beheshtīyān, ibid.[↩]
11. Beheshtīyān, ibid.[↩]
12. Beshārat, 1976/1355, p. 18. One of Ma‛ārefī’s most controversial interventions in historic monuments was the fastening of the tiles on the façade of the vaulted hall of the Jāme‛ ‛Abbāsī Mosque with long metal nails. This method has been criticized both because it caused cracking and chipping along the edges of the tiles and because of the corrosion of the metal nails over time, which created further damage. Nevertheless, Ma‛ārefī’s intervention successfully prevented the tiles from falling.[↩]
13. Varjāvand, 1976/1355, p. 4.[↩]
14. Muṣṭafavī, 1976/1355, p. 5.[↩]
15. Beheshtīyān, p. 7.[↩]
16. Nīkzād Amīr-Husseinī, p. 110.[↩]
17. Muṣṭafavī, 2004/1383, 2, p. 622.[↩]
18. He carried out this work together with ‛Abd al-Ghaffār Muṣaddeqzāde (d. 1940/1319). See: Sayyed-Bunakdār, p. 135.[↩]
19. Ibid.[↩]
20. According to the inscription around the neck of the dome, this work was completed after the text of the inscription had been revised by Jalāl al-Dīn Humāyī (d. 1980/1359), executed in the calligraphy of ‛Īsā Bahādurī (d. 1986/1365) and Ali Musammī-Parast (d. 1950/1329), under the supervision of the engineer Hussein Ravānbad and Karīm Nīkzād Amīr-Husseinī (d. 1990/1369). The tiles were manufactured by Īlīyā, the master tile maker, and installed by Muhammad-Ali, the master tile cutter. See: Ravānbad, p. 17.[↩]
21. Afsar and Mūsavī, p. 161.[↩]
22. Beshārat, 2022/1401, p. 137.[↩]
23. Beheshtīyān, p. 15.[↩]
24. Ibid., p. 8.[↩]
25. tārīkhche-ye sākhtemānhā…, p. 50; Beheshtīyān, ibid.[↩]
26. Beshārat, 2022/1401, p. 34.[↩]
27. tārīkhche-ye sākhtemānhā…, p. 59.[↩]
28. Beshārat, 2022/1401, p. 34.[↩]
29. Beheshtīyān, p. 15. The source states that this restoration was financed through a donation from Sheikhzāde Herātī (d. 1968/1347).[↩]
30. Beshārat, 2022/1401, p. 90.[↩]
31. Ibid., pp. 34–35.[↩]
32. Ibid., p. 34.[↩]
33. Ibid., p. 144.[↩]
34. Varjāvand, 1977/1356, pp. 12–13.[↩]
35. Muṣṭafavī, 1976/1355, pp. 4–6.[↩]
36. The inscription on the entrance portal reads: “Restored by the workers of the Department of Archaeology, Yadullāh and ‛Abd al-Razzāq, under the architectural supervision of Mr. Ma‛ārefī. 1949/1328.”[↩]
37. Beheshtīyān, p. 15.[↩]
38. Muṣṭafavī, 1976/1355, p. 5. This minaret collapsed in 1934/1313 as a result of inappropriate excavation by the owner of the neighboring property near its foundations, the diversion of the Hātef Street watercourse to its base, and the improper grouting carried out by a master builder working under Ma‛ārefī’s supervision.[↩]
39. Beheshtīyān, p. 8. It is stated that this work was carried out with the collaboration of Majdzāde Ṣahbā and Ustād Ḥāj Esmā‛īl Gachbur.[↩]
40. Ibid., p. 17.[↩]
41. Ibid.[↩]
42. Ibid.[↩]
43. Varjāvand, 1977/1356, p. 18.[↩]
44. Beheshtīyān, p. 17.[↩]
45. Ravānbad, p. 17.[↩]
46. Various sources also attribute to him the restoration of other monuments, including the Dhū al-Faqār Mosque, Emāmzāde Esmā‛īl, Bābā Rukn al-Dīn, the Mādar Shah madrasa, Darb-e Emām, the Mullā ‛Abdullāh madrasa, Kāsegerān, the Ali-Qulī Āqā Mosque, the Ḥakīm Mosque, the Lunbān Mosque, Sārū Taqī, and the Maqṣūd Beyk Mosque (see Varjāvand, 1977/1356, pp. 2–18; see also Sajjādī Nāʾīnī, 2008/1387).[↩]
47. Meshkūtī, pp. 12, 15.[↩]
48. Sajjādī Nāʾīnī, 2001/1380, p. 95.[↩]
49. tārīkhche-ye sākhtemānhā…, p. 47; “ustād Hussein Ma‛ārefī me‛mār-e banāhā-ye tārīkhī…,” p. 8.[↩]
50. The inscription on the monument reads: “When Khush Street was opened, part of the buildings of the Quṭbīyye Mosque was demolished. As the historic entrance portal was also in danger of being lost, this structure was erected to the same dimensions, and the tiles of the entrance portal of the Quṭbīyye Mosque were installed upon it. Solar year 1941/1320. Under the supervision of Javād Majdzāde Ṣahbā, with the architectural work of Hussein Ma‛ārefī, and the inscription executed by Ali Musammī-Parast.”[↩]
51. For the date of this operation, see Jāberī Anṣārī, Maẓāherī’s notes, p. 208.[↩]
52. Beheshtīyān, p. 17.[↩]
53. Ibid., p. 8. This inscription has since disappeared.[↩]
54. Baḥr al-‛Ulūmī, p. 760.[↩]
55. Beshārat, 2022/1401, p. 166.[↩]
56. Emāmzāde, p. 24.[↩]
57. Beshārat, 2022/1401, p. 44.[↩]
58. Baḥr al-‛Ulūmī, p. 428.[↩]
59. “ustād Hussein Ma‛ārefī me‛mār-e banāhā-ye tārīkhī…,” p. 8.[↩]
60. Beshārat, 1976/1355, p. 18.[↩]
61. According to photographic documents provided by the Ma‛ārefī family and preserved in the office of the Encyclopaedia of Isfahan at the Takht-e Fulād Cultural Complex, this mosque was inaugurated on Friday, February 2, 1973/13 Bahman 1351, in the presence of Sayyed Hussein Khādemī (d. 1984/1363), head of the Isfahan Seminary, and Hussein Ma‛ārefī.[↩]