The Secret Life of Flowers: Reimagining the Persian Rose and Nightingale

Join scholar Layla Diba for a richly illustrated lecture exploring the theme of the unrequited love of the nightingale for the rose in Persian art and poetry, inspired by the life and work of Annemarie Schimmel. Investigating its long history across the centuries and constant reinvigoration by Chinese and European imports, this lecture also argues for the deep roots of this theme in Persian culture. The talk focuses on the apogee of this theme in the 18th and 19th centuries and the manifold literary, religious, and political meanings it embodied as critical factors for its longevity and final triumph, not just as a flexible decorative motif but as a profound symbol of earthly and divine love.