The engraving “Presidents of the United States: From Washington to Bush” was created by Mehidi Alamdari in April 2014. It required three years of artistic effort to finish this masterpiece. The surface is silver-plated copper.

The vases are typical Iranian artworks with stories and designs engraved on them. They were made in the 1970s.

All items in this exhibit are part of the Mary and Hooshang Farahnakian collection. They are on loan from the Mehr Cultural Society, a non-profit organization established by Mary 15 years ago. The Mehr Society provides translations, hosts guests, and promotes Iranian culture.

Biography of Collectors

Hooshang and Mary Farahnakian were born in Iran and attended and graduated from the University of Tehran: Hooshang with a Bachelor’s Degree in Language Study and Mary with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre and Performing Arts. Mary received a Fullbright to study abroad, so the family moved to the United States where she obtained her Ph.D. from BYU in 1977. Hooshang received a Master of Arts from BYU in 1976. They returned to Iran to work and began collecting engravings and other artifacts. In 1981. following the Iranian Revolution, they decided to return to America.

Mary was hired by BYU in 1988 in the former Clothing and Textiles Dept. When the dept. closed, she joined the faculty in the Dept. of Theatre and Media Arts where she was a full professor. Hooshang was hired by BYU as an adjunct faculty in 2002 to teach Farsi (modern Persian.) They have two sons who also graduated from BYU. In 2007, Hooshang and Mary were called to translate the LDS General Conference into Farsi for global broadcasting.