British Museum director, Neil MacGregor has given a talk, mentioning both the Elgin Marbles & the Cyrus Cylinder. He says that the sense of national identity that people get from these pieces is an example of seeing what one wants to see – but surely his own interpretation of the artefacts as part of a global story that can only be told when they are assembled together in the British Museum is far more of a digression from the original significance of these particular artefacts.

From:
Guardian

British Museum’s Neil MacGregor on the Parthenon marbles and Cyrus cylinder
Tuesday 2 February 2010 22.45 GMT
Charlotte Higgins

Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, gave the first of the London Review of Books’ winter lectures, organised to celebrate the ­journal’s 30th birthday. He began by talking about John Dee’s obsidian ­mirror, in which the Elizabethan ­magus could supposedly see angels. That became MacGregor’s metaphor: we look at objects and find in them what we want to see. And so to the ­Parthenon marbles and the Cyrus ­cylinder (a clay cylinder inscribed with a decree from the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great). “A whole nation,” MacGregor said of the marbles, “has decided they embody something ­fundamental about Greek national identity. It is a prime example of ­seeing what you want to see.”
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As the Cyrus Cylinder debate continues, the British Museum claims that it requires at least six months to study the newly found fragments. It is unclear though why it is necessary to do this now (and delay the already many times postponed loan), rather than wait until the cylinder is returned at the end of the loan period. Of course they could be assuming that others will have the same propensity to break promises as they do.

From:
Press TV (Iran)

London needs 6 months to study new cylinder pieces
Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:27:00 GMT

The British Museum says it needs at least six more months to study the newly-found fragments of the ancient Cyrus cylinder.

The museum announced the discovery of new clay pieces in its storeroom, which seem to be copies of the Persian Cyrus cylinder, known as the world’s first charter of human rights.
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The British Museum’s arguments with Iran continue, as they try to justify their position in continually delaying the proposed reciprocal loan of the Cyrus Cylinder. What is more interesting is that the British Museum clings on to these artefacts proclaiming how important they are, but then it is not included on the list of the 100 most important artefacts in the Museum.

From:
The Guardian

British Museum in battle with Iran over ancient ‘charter of rights’
Tehran alleges time-wasting as curator trawls through thousands of cuneiform clay fragments for Cyrus the Great’s legacy
John Wilson – The Observer, Sunday 24 January 2010

The discovery of fragments of ancient cuneiform tablets – hidden in a British Museum storeroom since 1881 – has sparked a diplomatic row between the UK and Iran. In dispute is a proposed loan of the Cyrus cylinder, one of the most important objects in the museum’s collection, and regarded by some historians as the world’s first human rights charter.

The Iranian government has threatened to “sever all cultural relations” with Britain unless the artefact is sent to Tehran immediately. Museum director Neil MacGregor has been accused by an Iranian vice-president of “wasting time” and “making excuses” not to make the loan of the 2,500-year-old clay object, as was agreed last year.
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More coverage & analysis of the continuing delays to the British Museum’s planned return of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran.

From:
Financial Times

Storm in a cylinder
Published: January 22 2010 22:44 | Last updated: January 22 2010 22:44

The row over the British Museum’s delay in honouring its agreement to lend a precious artefact to Iran is no more than a storm in a cylinder – but no less instructive for being confected.

The museum has held up the loan to Iran’s National Museum of the Cyrus Cylinder, a cuneiform document inscribed in clay in 539BC by Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, to commemorate his conquest of Babylon. The reason for the delay is the discovery of two fragments from the cylinder that could greatly elucidate its purpose.
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Iran’s renewed irritation with the UK over the successive delays to the proposed loan of the Cyrus Cylinder is showing no sign of abating, as they continue to press ahead with plans to cease cooperation on other cultural issues. It is worth noting again, that Iran in the past has cooperated extensively with the British Museum – not least in the loan of artefacts to them for their recent Shah Abbas exhibition.

From:
Daily Telegraph

Iran threatens to sever links with UK in row over Cyrus Cylinder
By Heidi Blake
Published: 4:15PM GMT 21 Jan 2010

Iran has threatened to cut cultural ties with the UK after the British Museum refused to hand over a 23cm clay cylinder inscribed by Cyrus the Great, the Persian king.

The museum had promised to lend Iran the cylinder, thought to be inscribed with the first declaration of human rights, after borrowing several key works form Iranian museums for its exhibition on Shah Abbas, the Iranian emperor, last year.
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More coverage of the discovery of new fragments of the Cyrus Cylinder & the delays that it is causing to the proposed loan of the artefact to Iran.

From:
The Art Newspaper

Major discovery delays Cyrus Cylinder loan to Iran
British Museum says the finding of related texts is “very significant” but Iranian cultural heritage head threatening to cut cultural ties to the UK
By Martin Bailey | Published online 20 Jan 10

The British Museum’s (BM) loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran has been delayed, because of a major discovery in London. Part of Cyrus the Great’s text has been found on two fragments of inscribed clay tablets.

The first fragment was identified on 31 December by Wilfred Lambert, a retired professor from Birmingham University, who was going through some of the 130,000 tablets at the museum. Although it had been seen by earlier scholars, no one had linked the text to the Cyrus Cylinder.
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There has been quite a bit of coverage over Iran’s decision to block cultural events with the UK following the British Museum’s decision to further delay their planned loan of the Cyrus Cylinder.

From:
Fars News Agency

News number: 8810261670
19:10 | 2010-01-16
Official Warns British Museum against Delay in Sending Cyrus Cylinder to Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Vice-President Hamid Baqaei on Saturday called on the British Museum to put an end to the delayed implementation of an agreement held earlier between the two sides and send the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran, warning that Tehran may drop all relations with the Museum in case the delay is prolonged any further.

“We are currently holding negotiations with the British Museum. We will cut all our cultural relations with the museum if we realize later that the British Museum has been wasting time and seeking excuses to shrug off our requests,” said Baqaei, who is also Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO).
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Following the latest delays to the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran, the country’s government is now threatening to break cultural connections with the UK in the hope that this will speed up resolution of the problem. The first step in this exercise is the cancellation of a British play that was due to be performed at a festival in Iran.

From:
Tehran Times

January 16, 2010
Iran threatens to cut cultural ties with Britain over Cyrus Cylinder loan
Tehran Times Culture Desk

TEHRAN — Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) director, who is also a vice president, said on Thursday that Iran would cut cultural ties with Britain if they cannot come to an agreement with the British Museum concerning the Cyrus Cylinder loan.

“We are currently talking to them about the issue and if the discussions produce the outcome that Britain doesn’t want to fulfill the previous agreement, undoubtedly, we will cut cultural ties with Britain due to our previous ultimatum,” Hamid Baqaii told the Persian service of IRNA.
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The long running dispute over the Cyrus cylinder took a new twist recently when additional fragments from it were thought to have been discovered. Many are unconvinced by this though – whether or not fragments have suddenly appeared, is this a valid reason for delaying an already extensively postponed issue, or merely a delaying tactic.

From:
Press TV (Iran)

‘Cyrus cylinder does not have new info’
Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:47:43 GMT

Senior Research Associate of the University of Chicago says finding new Cyrus cylinder pieces should not delay its exhibition in Iran.

“Finding new pieces of the cylinder is not a good excuse for postponing its exhibition in Iran,” Iranologist and Senior Research Associate for the Iranian Prehistoric Project of the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute Abbas Alizadeh told ISNA.
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Following various discussions in November on the proposed loan of the Cyrus Cylinder, there are now going to be further delays to the loan, caused by the emergence of some new fragments of the cylinder that are being studied before anything else happens to it. Its unclear quite why these fragments have suddenly transpired now.

From:
Bloomberg News

British Museum Delays Sending Artifact to Iran After New Find
Last Updated: January 11, 2010 07:33 EST
By Farah Nayeri

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — The British Museum, which faces demands from Iran to lend an ancient artifact known as the Cyrus Cylinder, said it would delay sending the object there after making a discovery.

In agreement with the Iranian Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Organization, the Cylinder will stay in London after similar inscriptions were found on two pieces of cuneiform tablet in the museum’s collections that may shed light on its “missing” or “obscure” passages, the museum said in an e-mailed news release.
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After delays & discussions, the promised loan by the British Museum of the Cyrus Cylinder looks like it is finally going to go ahead.

From:
Press TV (Iran)

Iran finalizes Cyrus Cylinder exhibit
Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:47:13 GMT

After several months of negotiations with the British Museum in London, the Cyrus the Great Cylinder exhibit in Iran has been finalized for January 16, 2010.

The clay Cyrus Cylinder, which is currently housed at the British Museum in London, will be brought to Tehran in January, the head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) announced on Wednesday.
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A representative from the British Museum is going to discuss the Cyrus Cylinder in Iran. This seems to indicate that Iran’s threats to cease cooperation if the issue was not dealt with by the institution has at least had some success.

From:
Press TV (Iran)

UK official visits Iran over Cyrus cylinder
Sun, 25 Oct 2009 10:34:44 GMT

A British Museum representative is to head to Tehran in a bid to negotiate with Iranian officials over lending the Cyrus cylinder inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform.

“The director of the Middle East department at the British Museum, Sheila Canby, is scheduled to visit Tehran so as to address the matter. The 2,500-year-old clay cylinder was to be temporarily handed over to Iran in September. The British Museum however did not honor its pledge citing developments after Iran’s election in June,” Head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) Hamid Baqaei said.
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