Special Museum
The museum is a special part of the Salam hall (coronation) Pond House, which was built in 1874 AD (at the same time as the construction of the northwest side of the Golestan Palace, which actually resulted from the determination of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar to make changes in the royal citadel after returning from the first trip to Europe.
The architecture of this building was done under supervision of Haj Abul Hasan –e- Nava'i. At first, he worked under supervision of Mohammad Hassan Khan Sani al-Dowleh in the royal gardens and palaces, and due to his talent and good service, he was allowed to design and creat some interesting buildings, including the design and implementation of Reception and mirror Halls in 1883 and during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah, he became a court architect and then he was honored with the title of Sani al-Mulk.
The construction of this museum was supervised by Mirza Yahya Khan Motamed al-Mulk (minister of construction). He was the brother of Mirza Hossein Khan Sepah Salar (the Prime Minister of Nasir al-Din Shah) and husband of Nasir al-Din Shah's sister, Ezat al-Dowleh. This building underwent changes during the Pahlavi II period, and its walls and ceiling were beautifully decorated with plaster mouldings, and after that, it took the title of a Special or Royal museum. The objects in this museum are among the most exquisite works left by the Qajar kings. Some of these objects were part of the collection of works that were once in the Museum Room of the Naser al-Din Shah - which belonged to the previous periods or were gifted to the Qajar kings by the kings and artists of that time, or have been purchased by Qajar kings or their relatives.
This museum was reopened to the public on May 18, 2009.