Dr Mansoureh Rajabitanha
School of Architecture and Built Environment
College of Creative Arts, Design and Humanities
Dr Mansoureh Rajabitanha is an art historian whose research explores Islamic and Persian art and architecture, with a particular focus on the visual and cultural history of the early modern period. She completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide with a thesis titled Woven Pleasure: A New Perspective on the History of Persian Carpets during the Ṣafavīd Period (1501–1722 CE).
Her work investigates the intersections between textile, landscape, and architectural design to develop new perspectives on the decorative arts and their broader cultural meanings. Mansoureh’s current research expands this inquiry to explore cross-cultural artistic exchanges between Persia, South Asia, and the wider Islamic world, and how these connections inform global art histories.
She teaches History and Theory, Designing Research, Research Methods, and Islamic Art of West and South Asia. She is passionate about fostering interdisciplinary dialogue between art history, material culture, and architecture, and about connecting historical research with contemporary design thinking.
| Date | Position | Institution name |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 - ongoing | Curatorial Advisor | Art Gallery of South Australia |
| 2023 - ongoing | Lecturer | Adelaide Central School of Art |
| 2022 - ongoing | Senior Research Officer | The University of Adelaide |
| 2020 - ongoing | Sessional Academic | University of Adelaide |
| Language | Competency |
|---|---|
| Arabic | Can read and write |
| Azerbaijani | Can speak and understand spoken |
| English | Can peer review |
| Persian | Can peer review |
| Turkish Ottoman (1500-1928) | Can read, write and understand spoken |
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Adelaide | Australia | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | |
| Universiti Sains Malaysia | Malaysia | Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) by Research | |
| Tehran University of Art | Iran | Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Carpet Design |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Rajabitanha, M., & Ahmad, I. (2013). Towards a Cross-Cultural design by Integrating Batik Motifs into the Persian Carpet Design. International Journal of the Malay World and Civilisation, 111-123. |
| 2006 | Rajabitanha, M. (2006). Iranian Pictorial Carpet Production: A Survey of Its History and Evaluation. Herfe Honarmand. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Rashid, M. M., Bartsch, K., Alic, D., Faleh, M., Gusheh, M., & Rajabitanha, M. (2026). Building Faith in Walter Burley Griffin's National Capital: The Diplomatic Mosque and Other Architectural Narratives. In Muslim Minorities (Vol. 47, pp. 132-168). BRILL. DOI |
| 2026 | Rajabitanha, M., & Bartsch, K. (2026). The Arabesque Patterns through the Lens of Historical Persian Texts.. In A. Ismail Kahera, & E. Filiz Kölmek (Eds.), Aesthetics of Monotheism: Islam & the Hermeneutics of Art and Architecture. |
| 2013 | Rajabitanha, M., & Ahmad, I. (2013). The History and a Short Report of Pictorial Rug Production in Iran. In T. Sooi Bing (Ed.), The Convergence of the Performing and Creative Arts: Remaining Methodologies and Traditions (pp. 154-163). Penang: USM Press. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Rajabitanha, M., & Ahmad, I. (2012). Re-thinking Oriental rug: Integrating Batik Motifs into Persian Carpet. In Proceedings from iCAST 2012. Penang, Malaysia. |
| 2011 | Rajabitanha, M., & Ahmad, I. (2011). The History and a Short Report of Pictorial Rug Production in Iran. In PACIA 2011. Unuversiti Sains Malaysia, Penang. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Rajabitanha, M. (2024). Woven Pleasure: Continuity and Change in Persian Carpet Making.. Poster session presented at the meeting of 2024 an4aa Postgraduate Symposium Asian Art Research Now. |
| 2017 | Rajabitanha, M. (2017). New Face of Isfahan: The Comparison between the design of Yakob Carpet and the interior decoration of New Julfa Churches. Poster session presented at the meeting of SAHANZ 2nd PhD Symposium. |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Rajabitanha, M. (2020). Woven Pleasure: Continuity and Change in Persian Carpet Making During The Ṣafavīd Period. (PhD Thesis, The University of Adelaide). |
| 2014 | Rajabitanha, M. (2014). Re-Thinking Oriental Rug: Design Application of Pekalongan Batik Motifs into the Structure of Persian Carpet. (Master's Thesis). |
- 2015-2019 ASI Adelaide Scholarships Internationals, University of Adelaide
- 2011-2013 USM Research fellowship, Universiti Sains Malaysia
- Islamic Art of West and South Asia, Adelaide Central School of Art, 2023 - present.
- Construction Research Methods (M.ConM), University of Adelaide, 2025.
- History, Theory II (B.Arch), University of Adelaide, 2021 - present.
- Designing Research (M.Arch/M.Larch), University of Adelaide, 2020 - present.
- Fundamental Graphic Computer - Adobe Photoshop (M.A), Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2013.
- Sculpture (B.A), Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2011.
- Adobe Photoshop (carpet designing by computer), Iran Carpet Museum, Tehran, Iran, 2007.
- Persian Traditional Designing (B.A), Faculty of Architecture& Art, Kashan University, Kashan, Iran, Sep 2006- Jan 2007.
- Persian Illumination and Painting (B.A), Faculty of Architecture& Art, Kashan University, Kashan, Iran, Sep 2006- Jan 2007.
| Date | Institution | Department | Organisation Type | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 - ongoing | Art Gallery of South Australia | Asian Art | Cultural or historical | Australia |
| Date | Topic | Presented at | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 - ongoing | Weaving words and images: Persian poetry and visual culture | Art Gallery of South Australia | The Asian Arts Society of Australia (TAASA) | Australia |
| 2025 - ongoing | Mansoureh Rajabitanha discusses the poetry of Rumi with Asian Art Curator Russell Kelty | Art Gallery of South Australia | Art Gallery of South Australia | Australia |
| 2022 - ongoing | Persian Carpets of the Ṣafavīd period | - | Oriental Rug Society of NSW | Australia |
| Date | Title | Type | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 - ongoing | Identification and Categorization of Jols’ Designs and Patterns in the Sassanid Period | Peer Review | Acta Via Serica | Korea, Republic of |
| 2018 - ongoing | The Sultan’s Carpet: An Investigation of an Ottoman Cairene Textile in the Collection of the Nickle Galleries | Peer Review | Material Culture Review | Canada |
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