In a similar way to last years dispute with the British Museum, Iran is now threatening to withdraw cultural ties with France, if the Louvre does not proceed with a planed exhibition within an agreed timescale.

From:
Channel News Asia

Iran warns France over Louvre artefacts: report
Posted: 31 January 2011 2028 hrs

TEHRAN – Tehran has warned it will cut cultural ties with France if renowned Paris museum The Louvre fails to set up an exhibition of Persian artefacts in Iran as agreed, an official was Monday cited as saying.

“If this museum (The Louvre) fails to fulfill its commitment with the (Iranian) Cultural Heritage Organisation in the next two months, then we will cut cultural ties with France,” head of the organisation Hamid Baghai was quoted as saying by Tehran Emrouz newspaper.
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Whilst the loan (& hopeful extension of the loan) of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran should be welcomed, there is an issue to consider, that in the context of Iran, President Ahmadinejad is trying to use it in some ways to give himself an additional sense of legitimacy within the country. There is no right or wrong answer, but in the end, whilst the location of artefacts is a political issue, this does not necessarily justify them being used as a political pawn to suit other motives.

From:
CAIS

Cyrus the Great Cylinder and Ahmadinejad’s quest for legitimacy
Saturday, 08 January 2011 10:18
By Amir Taheri

LONDON, (CAIS) — Hoping to regain a measure of legitimacy in the wake of the disputed presidential election in 2009, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be trying to recast himself as a nationalist leading a struggle against foreign foes.

We have already noted this trend in previous columns as, slowly but surely, the president abandoned the standard Islamist discourse in favour of a nationalist one.
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The British Museum delayed the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran for a long time due to worries over the security of the loan & guarantees that the artefacts would be returned afterwards. After extensive re-assurances, the loan eventually went ahead. Many in Iran are still questioning whether it should be returned to the British Museum when the four months are up.

From:
Guardian

Iran lays claim to British Museum’s Cyrus Cylinder
Conservative Iranian newspaper raises concern that rare 6th century BC Babylonian artefact may not be returned
# Ian Black and Saeed Kamali Dehghan
Wednesday 15 September 2010 20.06 BST

It was not an easy decision for the British Museum to lend one of its most treasured artefacts to a country which has a notoriously prickly relationship with the UK. So curators in London are paying close attention to an Iranian threat not to return the famous Cyrus Cylinder — now embroiled in political intrigue in the Islamic Republic.

The 6th century BC Babylonian object, sometimes described as the world’s first human rights charter, arrived in Iran at the weekend and is due to be displayed for four months at the national museum.
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Although it only has the Cyrus Cylinder on a short term loan, there are hopes in by some in Iran that it will be registered (by Iran) as an Iranian artefact, emphasising the fact that although it may not be kept in the country, it still belongs to them.

From:
Tehran Times

September 21, 2010
Iranian society calls for national registration of Cyrus Cylinder
Tehran Times Culture Desk

The Iranian Society of Architecture Luminaries has proposed that Iran register the Cyrus Cylinder on the National Cultural Heritage List.

“We should seize this opportunity caused by the arrival of the Cyrus Cylinder in the country to register it on the list,” society director Alireza Qahhari told the Persian service of the Mehr News Agency on Monday.
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The arrival of the Cyrus Cylinder in Iran has triggered much debating over whether Cyrus the Great should hold relevance to the Islamic Republic at all, as it was produced before the Muslim religion existed. This seems to miss the point though of treating it for what it is – something that was significant at the time it was created, not using personal interpretations of it to try & score political points.

From:
Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies

Cyrus the Great caught up in a ‘punch and Judy’ political show in Iran
Monday, 20 September 2010 09:53

LONDON, (CAIS) — Islamic Republic’s conservative MP Ali Motahhari in an open letter has criticised Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for praising Cyrus the Great during a live televised interview on Friday.

The British Museum recently loaned the Cyrus Cylinder to the Islamic Republic for a period of four months, despite the international condemnations, protests and warnings regarding its safety. The priceless artefact was put on display at the National Museum of Iran and the Islamic Republic’s president formally opened the Cyrus Cylinder exhibit on Sunday 12th.
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After years of broken promises, dragging of heels (by the British Museum) & footstomping (By Iran), the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder from the British Museum to Iran has finally gone ahead. Whilst I believe that the Cylinder should eventually be returned to Iran on a longer term basis, I hope that Iran behaves responsibly & honours the terms of the current loan agreement, otherwise any problems will be used as a justification for blocking future loans of disputed artefacts.

From:
Straits Times

Sep 10, 2010
Museum lends ancient artifact

TEHERAN – THE British Museum on Friday loaned Iran an ancient terracotta document called the Cyrus Cylinder, after a row in which Iran said it had cut ties with the institution, a senior official said.

‘Today the Cyrus Cylinder, which has so far been kept in the British Museum, arrived in Iran,’ Vice President Hamid Baghai, who heads the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organisation, told Fars news agency.
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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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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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Iran is continuing in their attempts to secure a loan of the Cyrus Cylinder – something that was previously planned, but has subsequently postponed. They claim that the British Museum broke previous agreements & that as a result they will be forced to cease cooperation with the institution.

From:
Reuters

Iran says British Museum broke pledge on artifact
Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:25pm EDT

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran accused the British Museum on Monday of breaking a promise to lend it an artifact relating to Cyrus of Persia’s conquest of Babylon in the 6th century BC.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi warned of wider harm to archaeological cooperation between London and Tehran if the British Museum did not allow public display of the so-called Cyrus Cylinder in Iran.
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