Jonathan Cohen's photos with the keyword: shrine

The International Archives holds many of the most sacred items within the Baha’i Faith, but most importantly is built for the viewing of the paintings and drawings of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb – the founders of the Faith – along with a single photograph of Bahá'u'lláh. Although some of these items are available on the internet today, most Baha’is prefer to see these items only in a reverent atmosphere, during the pilgrimage. Shoghi Effendi chose the Parthenon as the basis for the design, possibly due to the apparent enduring beauty even after thousands of years. The capitals of the fifty columns were Ionic rather than the Doric Order.

The Yellow Bird of Paradise – Strelitzia reginae "Mandela’s Gold" – is a rare, yellow form of the famous orange Bird of Paradise. This spectacular cultivar has flaring, yellow sepals and blue petals reminiscent of a crested tropical bird. Related to Heliconias and Bananas, the Yellow Bird of Paradise looks similar to the orange form, but it slightly smaller, growing to 4 feet tall. This South African native eventually multiplies into a large colony of plants several feet across. It blooms throughout the year in mild climates. The tall flower stalks rise above the foliage, with a beak-like spathe growing outward, about 6 inches in length. The bright yellow sepals spread out to invite birds to perch on the blue petals, which contain nectar. The blooms make very long lasting cut flowers. "Mandela’s Gold" was named in honor of South African statesman, Nelson Mandela.

An asen is an altar commemorating a deceased person in the Fon culture. Family members in the world of the dead maintain an active role in the world of their living relatives and the asen facilitates communion between these two realms. Periodically, food offerings are placed upon the asen, or libations are poured over it, in order to please the deceased. This asen was made in the coastal city of Ouidah in the Republic of Benin. Ouidah was infamous as a slave port for France, Britain, Holland, and Portugal. By the end of the slave trade in the 19th century Ouidah’s most important inhabitants were Afro-Brazilians, freed slaves returning from the Portuguese plantations of Brazil. The Brazilian influence is seen in the tableau of objects on the platform. The commemorated person sits on an ornate chair instead of an African stool, wearing a European stovepipe hat and clothes (status symbols indicating the wealth and standing of the deceased). The Christian cross indicates a familiarity with Portuguese Catholicism and coexists alongside older Fon symbolic motifs. For example, The tethered goat and roosters represent food offerings made to the deceased. This asen is made of iron, with iron oxide encrustations. It dates from the mid-19th century.