Iranian benefactress Ezzat-Malek dies

A July 1, 2014 edition of Tandis Biweekly, which focuses, among other things, on arts and culture, reported the death of Iranian benefactress Ezzat-Malek Malek at the age of 102.

Ezzat-Malek Malek (Soudavar), a generous benefactress and daughter of Hossein Malek, the founder of Malek Museum, passed away on June 22, 2014.

Ezzat, the eldest daughter of Hossein Malek and Navabeh Sedigheh, was born in 1912 in Mashhad [northeastern Iran]. Her strong interest in Iranian art and culture prompted her father to give her full authority running the Malek endowments.

This generous woman, who died at the age of 102, followed in the footsteps of her father, collecting historical items on Iranian-Islamic civilization and donating them to Malek Museum and Library.

On November 23, 2006, a collection of 47 valuable items donated by Ezzat Malek was put on display at Malek National Museum. Most of the items in this collection were purchased from foreign collectors so that they could be returned to their country of origin.

The museum is home to valuable copies of the Koran, ancient handwritings, oil and watercolor paintings, deeds and documents of endowment dating back to the Qajar and Safavid eras.

This generous woman, who died at the age of 102, followed in the footsteps of her father, collecting historical items on Iranian-Islamic civilization and donating them to Malek Museum and Library.

Ezzat-Malek Malek, who was on hand last year for the opening of a permanent cultural exhibition named after her father, maintained her physical and mental faculties until a few months prior to her death.