The Sassanid relief was unveiled

“Eminent figure of a high-ranking Sassanid man” was unveiled in Tehran after confirming its historical authenticity. This petroglyph was smuggled from Iran to the UAE and then Britain about 35 years ago.

The Sassanid figure, which was returned to Iran from Britain on July 7th, has been exhibited in the National Museum of Iran from July 19th to 31st.

Jabreil Nokandeh, the head of the National Museum of Iran, said that this relief is Sassanid and made of lime.

Ali Darabi, the deputy of cultural heritage and deputy of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts also said:

According to the 1970 convention, the Islamic Republic of Iran is seriously pursuing the return of historical objects, and in the recent Chinese summit, the proposal of cooperation between member countries and the extensive efforts of international countries to return historical objects was proposed.

He recalled:

In the 13th government, 30 historical works were returned to the country with the cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Judiciary, the Legal Vice President, the Culture and Communication Organization, and the International Police. became.

According to him, before this, brick slabs were returned to Iran from France and all these works will be exhibited during the government week.

Darabi added:

We have 30 Sassanid bas-reliefs in cultural Iran, and this relief was transferred to the Emirates during the war, and then recorded at the London airport, and because it was damaged during the transfer, it was restored and exhibited in the British Museum for three months, and then returned to Iran with the necessary formalities. given. It was necessary for this prominent character to spend the quarantine period, and 12 experts had a mission of authenticating it, which was approved.

He further said:

I asked the head of the cultural heritage research institute to form a joint committee with the research institute and cultural heritage regarding these works and other works, and to carry out continuous and world-class authenticity checks.

Morteza Adibzadeh, the director general of museums and historical properties of the country, also confirmed the historical authenticity of this work and said that it is very likely that this relief was taken from southern Persia.

According to what the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts has announced, this petroglyph was most likely taken illegally from the southern waters of the country to the UAE in 1988, around 1367 AD, at the same time as the Iraq-Iran war. In 2016, it was seized at an airport in London and handed over to the British Museum.

This petroglyph, whose discovery was announced in April 1402 and after about seven years was revealed by the Guardian newspaper, was displayed in the British Museum for three months and then returned to Iran.