Monthly Photos November 2026 : A Statue of Saʿdī (Stylish Winter Layering)

Photos taken by ILCAA staff and associates are posted here once a month; most of them are taken during their field research in Asia and Africa. (The copyright belongs to the photographers.)

Statues of great historical figures are a familiar sight in public spaces across Iran. Yet those installed in the library inside the “Iran Mall”—a commercial complex Iranians proudly proclaim “the world’s largest”—stand out from the rest.

As a result of an exquisite fusion between commercial demands and Iranian intellectual pride—which puts a library even in a shopping mall—the poet Saʿdī was rendered in a stylish shearling-trimmed leather coat, layered over a tonal sweater with a floral shirt peeking out at the collar and hem.

March 13, 2024
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
SUMIDA, Tetsuro