Why did Sassanid man come late?

The Sassanid figure of a man was seized in Britain in 2016 and the Iranian government was informed of its existence, but it took about seven years for this object to return to Iran. The head of Iran’s Cultural and Historical Movable Property Department stated that the reason for this long delay is the need to provide court-friendly documents to prove the ownership of this petroglyph.

In April 1402, the Guardian newspaper announced the existence of a smuggled work belonging to Iran in the British Museum and reported that this Sassanid bas-relief with a possible value of 30 million pounds was accidentally discovered by British Border Force officers at Stansted Airport in London. Their guess was that the discovered cargo was going to be sold on the British black market.

The Guardian newspaper also wrote that this petroglyph is supposed to be exhibited in the British Museum before returning home (Iran). Officials of the British Museum also announced that they have received permission from the Iranian government to display this ancient treasure for three months.

The revelation of this English newspaper, although it led to many questions about its origin, origin, how it was smuggled out of Iran, but caused the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts to react and confirm in a statement that since 2016 Such a work has been known in the British Museum. Even the subsequent follow-ups indicated that it was found that this petroglyph was smuggled to the UAE from the blue borders of the south of the country. However, according to the statements of the officials of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts and the report published by the Guardian, no one has been arrested in connection with this case.

Now that this petroglyph has been handed over to Iran after seven years and questions have been raised about the reason for the delay in its return, Mohammad Reza Zahedi – the head of the Department of Cultural and Historical Movable Properties – says that providing documents to prove that this relief belongs to Iran and He left the country illegally, which was the reason for the delay in his return.

The head of the Department of Cultural and Historical Movable Property also states that in the past, the cultural scope of Iran was not limited to the present day geography and included the countries of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan and Central Asia, and states: In international courts, there should be evidence of the existence of We used to provide similar examples in the country. In terms of form, shape and decorations, this relief is similar to the works related to Rostam and Rajab, similar samples were collected, and along with the laws and regulations of Iran, where, for example, excavation of historical objects is not allowed and for objects over 100 years old. The year the exit permit is not issued, it was presented to these international courts.

According to the information recently published by the public relations of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, quoting Morteza Adibzadeh, Director General of Museums of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, “The process of returning this work to Iran is with the follow-up of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the continuous cooperation of the embassy.” “Islamic Republic of Iran in London and the correspondence started last year.”

Although the authenticity and origin of the Sasanian petroglyphs are still questionable, according to the information published by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts, it is very likely that in 1988 AD, around 1367 AD, at the same time as the war between Iraq and Iran, The illegal figure was taken out of the country to the UAE and now it is back home after 35 years, and it is going to be put on public display in the National Museum of Iran after being quarantined. Zahedi, the head of the Department of Cultural and Historical Movable Properties, says: The Sassanid rock painting has been transferred to the National Museum of Iran and will be put on public display during a ceremony after quarantine.

He estimates the approximate quarantine time to be 48 hours and states: Because this object entered the country from another place and may have a virus with it, it will be quarantined for a period of time and then transferred to the main part of the museum and kept aside. Other objects are placed.

Jabraeil Nokandeh, the director general of the National Museum of Iran, to whom this petroglyph was handed over to its experts, said about the process of exhibiting the extradited works: After passing the quarantine period, the object is removed from the packaging in the presence of the legal representatives/custodian of the property and A condition report is prepared by a conservation and restoration expert to ensure the object’s health during transportation and travel. The status report is matched with the form prepared before packaging, and the physical health of the work is documented and checked. The Supreme Board of Experts examines the work in terms of authenticity in order to know whether the works that have been returned to the country have historical authenticity or not, and the result is set in a meeting report. The final stage is preparing a suitable showcase, content plan for the show, setting up subtitles and sufficient information about the work and performing the ceremonies of showing and unveiling it so that we can provide sufficient and correct information to the visitors.