Selma Kuyumjian

Selma Kuyumjian (, ; 26 December 1907 – 1990), also known as Selma Kouyoumjian and, after her marriage, Selma Moghaddam, was a Bulgarian-born Armenian archaeologist and librarian who lived and worked in Iran from 1936 until her death. She served as head of the library of the National Museum of Iran and undertook archaeological assignments for Iran's antiquities administration.

Together with her husband, Iranian archaeologist and professor Mohsen Moghaddam, Kuyumjian assembled and preserved a collection of Iranian archaeological objects, architectural fragments and works of decorative art in their Tehran residence. The house and collection later became the Moghadam House and Museum of the University of Tehran.

Early life and education Kuyumjian was born on 26 December 1907 in Ruse (then commonly known as Ruschuk), Bulgaria, to an Armenian family. Her parents, Vagharshak and Arsine Kuyumjian, were Armenians whose family origins were in the region of Kars, then part of the Ottoman Empire.

Kuyumjian retired from Iran's Ministry of Culture and Art in 1966. After her retirement she worked at the library of the museum of the Iranian Parliament.

The book provides an introduction to the archaeological history and monuments of Susa and Chogha Zanbil, including the results of the excavations that had revealed the importance of the two sites for the study of ancient Elam.

Her professional career and her work with Moghaddam have been revisited in later publications and documentary projects. In 2021, Peyman Cultural Quarterly published a biographical study of her and the Moghaddam House Museum.

Selected publication

Moghaddam, Selma (1963). Guide de Suse et de Tchogha-Zanbil. Persian translation by Noushin Nafisi. Tehran: Service Archéologique de l'Iran. French and Persian.