Public Lecture with Dr. Anke Scharrahs: The Persian Card Room at the Graylyn Estate — Secrets of a Rare Interior from Damascus Revealed

In the 1920s, numerous pieces of residential interiors from Damascus made their way via Istanbul to the splendid residence of the Gray family in Winston-Salem. The decorated wood panels were installed at Graylyn estate and mysteriously called the Persian Card Room. The lecture provides fascinating insights into the recently revealed origin and significance of this gorgeous room. Meticulously crafted by artisans in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, these panels still reach out to visitors, telling quiet stories from a bygone era of urban life in Damascus, one of the oldest inhabited cities of the world.

This event is sponsored by the WFU Center for Global Programs and Studies, the History Department, the Humanities Institute, the Art Department, the Department for the Study of Religions, and the Middle East and South Asia Studies Program.

Public reception to follow.