Staging Continuity: The Strategy of Periodization in André Godard’s <i>L’Art de l’Iran</i>

Abstract This article examines the construction of a continuous history of Iranian art and architecture in André Godard’s L’Art de l’Iran ( The Art of Iran ). Relying on the strategic use of periodization, Godard stages continuity as a narrative achievement, anchoring it in geography, displacing it during moments of foreign rule, concealing it beneath surface forms, and reactivating it under favorable conditions. Rather than treating historical periods as neutral divisions, this article shows how periodization operates as a historiographic strategy that stabilizes continuity by managing disruption, marginalizing rupture, and selectively rendering certain forms, regions, and temporalities visible while excluding others.