Biography of Mohsen Moghaddam

Mohsen Moghaddam, the son of Mohammad Taghi Khan Ehtesab al-Molk, was born in Tehran in the late Qajar period in 1900. In 1912, he was sent to Europe for education at a young age. He returned to Iran during World War I and continued his studies at the School of Applied Industries under the guidance of renowned masters such as Kamal al-Molk. After several years, he returned to Europe again. Mohsen Moghaddam received education and training at the Louvre Museum in Paris, specifically in the field of archaeology under the guidance of George Contenau, a famous archaeologist. He also pursued painting studies in Paris. During his final years in Europe, Mohsen Moghaddam represented Iran in numerous conferences and exhibitions as a cultural representative.

In 1936, Mohsen Moghaddam married Salma Kuyumjian, who also had studied archaeology and art. They returned to Iran together and in 1937, Mohsen Moghaddam began his specialized work as the technical inspector of the French Archaeological Mission in Susa under the supervision of Roland de Mecquenem. They also worked under the guidance of Andre Godard at the Iran Bastan Museum. Mohsen Moghaddam carried out various archaeological and artistic missions, including leading a team to create an archaeological map of Gilan in 1961, which was later continued by Dr. Ezzatollah Negahban, one of Professor Moghaddam's students. Besides his fieldwork, Mohsen Moghaddam had various academic activities at the University of Tehran and is considered one of the pioneering academics in the field of archaeology in Iran. He was one of the main founders of the Faculty of Fine Arts. Additionally, Moghaddam took charge of representing Iran in various exhibitions and congresses and has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career.

One notable characteristic of Mohsen Moghaddam was his passion for collecting various collections from a young age, such as stamps, seashells, tobacco pipes, and diverse historical artifacts. Throughout their lives, he and his wife endured many hardships to build a rich collection of historical and artistic objects. Mohsen Moghaddam was a dedicated collector and lover of Iran's past culture, and he did not collect his collection for its monetary value. He often purchased many of his artifacts from outside of Iran and brought them back to the country. In the month of Aban in 1972, fifteen years before his passing, Professor Moghaddam dedicated his ancestral home, along with all the artifacts inside it, to the students of the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Archaeology Group at the University of Tehran for education and research purposes, and later to the general public.