The Tabataba'i House is a historic mansion in Kashan, Iran, constructed during the second half of the nineteenth/thirteenth century AH. It is named after the family who commissioned the home and is dated through an inscription to 1298 AH (1881 CE).

The house is located in the old city of Kashan, next to the shrine known as Imamzadah Sultan Amir Ahmad. The house is based around a large central courtyard with several secondary courtyards, accessed through passageways off of the central courtyard and its adjoining rooms. The result of this structure is that most rooms open onto more than one courtyard.

The entrance to the house is through a portal in its eastern corner. The portal leads onto a long corridor onto a flight of stairs leading to the eastern corner of the main courtyard. The main courtyard is a large rectangle oriented northwest to southeast. A large, rectangular pool oriented northwest to southeast occupies the center of the courtyard and is flanked by three octagonal beds for plants on either side. A smaller rectangular pool oriented perpendicular to the larger central pool marks the southeastern end of this assemblage. The longer northeastern and southwestern sides of the courtyard are each feature rooms that open onto the court through sih-dari (triple-bay windows). The shorter northwestern and southeastern sides are distinguished by the presence of large, covered halls which open onto the court. 

The hall on the northwestern side of the courtyard is a single story room that opens onto a raised platform (suffah) flanked by two galleries. A flight of stairs descends from the courtyard below the suffah to a large basement hall. The hall on the southeastern side is fronted by an iwan rising two stories and opening onto the courtyard through three arches. The facade of the iwan is ornately decorated with carving. The interior of the southeastern hall is covered by vault with kar-bandi ornament.

Each of the covered halls at its end of the courtyard is flanked by two smaller "back" or "secondary" courtyards. On the northwestern side, the hall opens onto two rectangular courtyards. The large hall on the southeastern side opens to two square courtyards that are covered by a partial ceiling in the form of a zone of transition with a large round opening in the center where one would expect a dome.

The 19th century residence was fully restored and is now open to the public.

Sources:

Ḥājjī-Qāsimī, Kāmbīz, ed. Ganjnāmah-i farhang-i ās̲ār-i miʻmārī-i Islāmī-i Īrān, Vol. 16, 70-83. 18 vols. Tehran: Dānishgāh-i Shahīd Bihishtī, 2016.

IranShahrPedia: Encyclopedia of Iranian Architectural History entry: http://iranshahrpedia.com/view/16753. Archived version (May 28, 2019): http://archive.is/tL9GO

Registration number in Fihrist-i Asar-i Milli-i Iran: 1504. Registered 11/11/1355 (Solar Hijri)

منابع فارسی

حاجی قاسمد، كامبيز. گنجنامه : فرهگ آثار معماری اسلامی ایرن. دفتر سانزدهم، ص ۲۳۴-۲۴۷. تهران : دانشکاه شهيد بهشتى، ۱۳۹۵ 

: دانشنامۀ تاریخ معماری و شهرسازی ایران‌شهر

http://iranshahrpedia.com/view/16753 

شمارهٔ ثبت در فهرست آثار ملى ايران: ۱۵۰۴. تاریخ ثبت: ۱۳۵۵

Record updates:

• May 28, 2019 (AKDC Staff): Edited data (made date more precise according to research); wrote description; added references.