André Godard
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André Godard (21 January 1881 – 31 July 1965) was a French
Life
Godard was a graduate of the
He made his first trip to the Middle East in 1910 with Henri Violle. Together, they began to excavate the ancient ruins of
After World War I, Godard married Yeda Reuilly. The Delegation of French Archaeology in Afghanistan was subsequently founded in 1922, so Godard and his new wife accompanied the organization to not-yet-excavated regions. They consequently studied Bâmiyân, which was later permitted to be exhibited at the central Buddhist shrine of the Guimet Museum, in 1925.
In 1928, Godard was granted the directorship of Iranian Archeological Services, by the authority of Reza Shah. The IAS was intended to mark the end of French monopoly over excavation in Iran. As such, Godard focused on the politics of conservation, and held the title of Director from 1928 to 1953, then again from 1956 to 1960. Reza Shah also appointed him director of the National Museum of Iran (Muze-ye Irân-e Bāstān).
During his tenure, Godard was responsible for the restoration of major historic monuments of Iran, such as the
During World War II Godard opposed the Vichy government of France and when the Vichy diplomatic representatives were expelled from Tehran in 1942, helped form the Free France Committee and later become the official diplomatic representative of the provisional government in Tehran.[2] In this period his wife Yedda organized an information radio program on Free France which was broadcast on the Persian radio.[1]
Godard returned to Paris in 1960, where he continued to write on Iranian art. He died in Paris on 31 July 1965.
References
- ^ a b Gran-Aymerich, Ève; Marefat, Mina (15 December 2001). "GODARD, ANDRÉ". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Chaumont, Marie-Louise (15 December 2000). "FRANCE iv. RELATIONS WITH PERSIA SINCE 1918". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 10 January 2016.