This book tells the story of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s extensive and renowned treasures of Iranian art. These treasures range from archaeological findings to architectural salvage, from domestic furnishings and drinking vessels to design archives. Spanning at least 12 centuries of Iran’s sophisticated cultural history, the V&A’s Iranian collections are in many different art media such as: ceramics, carpets, textiles, metalwork, glass, stone and woodwork, as well as paintings and works on paper. Most of these works were purchased in the late 19th century, in only a few decades – almost between 1873 and 1893 – during a specific period of political and economic relationships between Victorian Britain and Qajar Iran. This book investigates the mentioned time span through four special case studies and shows how architects, diplomats, art dealers, collectors, artists and commercial designers were engaged in ancient and modern Iran’s visual traditions. The results of this exchanges were also determined by the prevailing economic conditions and the political relationship between Iran and Britain which was related to this specific short period of modern history. Altogether, these various endeavours effectively built Iran collections in V&A, and showed an amazing history of Iran’s visual heritage.