Repatriation of Sassanid relief from Britain/ original authenticity of the work confirmed
“Morteza Adibzadeh”, Director General of Museums, in an interview with Aria’s Heritage reporter, regarding the news published about a prominent Sassanid scroll in the British Museum, said: Following the news of the seizure of a historical artifact belonging to Iran by the British Border Police, a shipment containing part of a scroll was announced. The Sassanid relief has been handed over to the British Museum by the police. The case dates back to 2016, when a historical artifact was seized from a passenger plane at Stansted Airport. The border force officers suspected it due to the type of packaging of the work, and after inspection, this cargo was confiscated.
He continued: This case has been investigated by Interpol, but no arrests have been made so far. With the follow-up of the General Directorate of Museums of the Vice-Chancellor of Cultural Heritage and the continuous cooperation of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in London, as well as the correspondence that took place last year, the process of returning this work to the country has begun and we are trying to return it to Iran this year.
Adibzadeh emphasized: Earlier, the officials of the British Museum requested that the aforementioned work be displayed in the British Museum for a while before being returned to Iran. Due to the cooperation of this museum in the information, expertise and restoration of this valuable work, it was decided that after the official announcement of the safe delivery of the object by the museum, this relief will be displayed in the British Museum for a maximum of three months, and then it will be returned to Iran through legal formalities. be returned
He also stated that regarding the authenticity of the work, considering that the British Museum has prominent experts in the field of history and art of the Sassanid period, they have examined this work and confirmed its authenticity and declared its origin to be in the Fars region. Hadesh: Of course, after returning the work to Iran, we will also carry out the necessary investigations for authenticity and expertise.
In the end, the director of the museum center said: According to the investigations carried out on this relief, it seems that the said work was a part of a relief with a larger composition. Currently, the lack of an inscription makes it difficult to identify the person sculpted in this relief. Although its external evidence shows the image of a high-ranking official of the Sassanid period.
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