More coverage of the dispute between Iran & the Louvre in Paris.

From:
Press TV

Iran rejects Louvre Museum claims
Thu Apr 28, 2011 12:34PM

In a statement released on Wednesday, the National Museum of Iran said that a cultural agreement was signed between Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) and the Louvre Museum on October 31, 2004, under which the two museums were supposed to hold exhibitions in the Iranian and French capitals.

The agreement, which is in English, Persian and French, has clearly stated that the two museums can exchange experts and cooperate in research and educational activities, IRNA reported.
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Iran appears to have carried out its earlier threats to end cooperation with the Louvre, due to unresolved disputes that it has with the museum.

From:
Press TV

Monday Apr 04, 201102:42 PM GMT
Iran severs ties with Louvre Museum
4th april 2011

Iran says it has severed all ties with the Louvre Museum because the French art center has not shown any commitment to the promises it made.

“Based on the agreement between the Louvre and Iran’s Cultural heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO), the museum must hold an exhibition of its ancient artifacts in Iran,” Head of ICHTO Hamid Baqaei told a press conference on Monday.
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Some more of the many articles calling for the protection of Cairo’s artefacts – a position that of course contradicts the fact that many of the museums of the west acquired large amounts of their collections amid similar scenes of chaos & lawlessness as the ones currently being seen in Egypt – & the fact that they were willing purchasers only added an incentive to would be looters.

From:
Guardian

Tomb raiders: why does no one care about Cairo’s Egyptian Museum?

Judging by reports from Cairo, the west does not understand that one of the greatest antiquity collections on Earth is in danger

If petrol bombs were being thrown in St Marks Square in Venice, or outside the British Museum, what would reports say? We would never stop hearing about the threat to humanity’s cultural heritage. Yet, as I scan the news sites for the latest reports from Cairo, it is strange how little stress has been placed on the unique importance and fragility of the contents of the Egyptian Museum, which stands at the very heart of the unfolding tragedy. That is why I must reiterate my previous attempt to draw attention to this silent witness and victim of events.
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Museums (generally those in the Western World, that have artefacts that others want returned) have long argued that they safely look after their collections, preserving them with a level of care that would not be possible elsewhere. Stories such as the one below however, remind us that there is no guaranteed safety anywhere in the world. And surely it is all the more upsetting for the original owners if they were denied access to their own artefacts, only to see them destroyed or damaged, while in the care of another institution?

An earlier article about the reconstruction of the sculptures follows at the end of the first one.

From:
Press TV

Berlin exhibits shattered WWII statues
Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:55PM
The German city of Berlin has mounted an exhibition of ancient statues and stone reliefs nearly destructed during bombings of the World War II.

The Tell Halaf Adventure displays 3,000-year-old basalt statues unearthed in present-day Syria a century ago.

The sculptures were broken into thousands of pieces during 1943 bombings and kept in the vaults of the capital’s Pergamon Museum and then in East Berlin.
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More coverage of the decision by the British Museum to extend the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran.

From:
The Art Newspaper

Cyrus Cylinder to remain in Iran until Spring
The extension gives people from the provinces the opportunity to visit the exhibition during the Persian New Year holidays
By Martin Bailey
Published online 5 Jan 11

The British Museum (BM) has agreed to extend the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran’s National Museum. Although it was due to be returned on 16 January, BM trustees took the unusual decision to offer a last-minute extension. As we predicted, it has now been accepted that the antiquity, an inscribed royal decree of 539 BC, can continue on loan to Tehran until 15 April, after the Iranian new year holidays.

A BM spokeswoman explained: “This decision has been taken in recognition of the fact that the exhibition has proved to be very popular. The extension will give an opportunity for people from the provinces, including school groups, to visit the exhibition during the No-Ruz (new year) holidays around 20 March.” So far the Cyrus Cylinder has been seen by over 200,000 visitors, who are allowed in to the gallery on a timed entry system to view the antiquity for a few minutes each.
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Following requests from Iran, the British Museum has agreed to extend the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder for a further three months.

From:
Bloomberg News

Iran to Keep British Museum’s Cyrus Cylinder Three More Months
By Farah Nayeri – Jan 4, 2011 6:55 PM GMT

The British Museum said it will prolong its loan to Iran of an ancient artifact for three more months, meeting a request by the Iranian authorities.

The Cyrus Cylinder, which went on show at the National Museum of Iran in September and was due back Jan. 16, will stay in Tehran until April 15 — after late March celebrations of the Iranian New Year (Norouz), the museum’s press office said in an e-mailed statement.
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Following the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran, requests have been made to extend the loan to allow the artefact to be on display for longer.

From:
CAIS

Islamic Republic asked Britain to keep Cyrus the Great Cylinder for a longer period; Iranian cultural figures called it a bad idea

LONDON, (CAIS) — CAIS was informed that the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has requested an extension of loan of the Cyrus the Great Cylinder. The Cyrus Cylinder was loaned to the National Museum of Iran in early September for a period of four months.

The extension of the loaning this priceless artefact is a matter of great concern, particularly when the Islamic Republic’s National Security and Foreign Policy Council voted in favour of completely cutting ties with the United Kingdom on Saturday.
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On a similar them to the Chinese discovery that there are potentially 23,000 looted artefacts from their country in the British Museum, Iran’s National Museum Curator has identified 800 Persian artefacts in two galleries in Europe.

From:
Press TV

‘800 Iranian artifacts found in Europe’
Wed Oct 27, 2010

Iran’s National Museum Curator Azadeh Ardakani says the museum has identified 800 Persian historical objects in two European galleries.

“Iran’s National Museum has identified almost 800 Persian artifacts, which have been smuggled to two foreign galleries from 1940 to 1984,” Fars news agency quoted Ardakani as saying on Wednesday.
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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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More coverage of Iran’s current demands for compensation from the British Museum over the delayed loan of the Cyrus Cylinder.

From:
Tehran Times

April 18, 2010
Iran seeks compensation from British Museum
Tehran Times Culture Desk

TEHRAN — Iran plans to seek compensation from the British Museum after the museum refused to lend the country the Cyrus Cylinder for a showcase.

“The National Museum of Iran has spent about $300,000 for the showcase and we plan to demand our outlay back from the British Museum,” Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) Director Hamid Baqaii told the Persian service of ISNA on Friday.
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The British Museum made a deal with Iran in 2005 – that Iran would lend artefacts to the British Museum in for an exhibition on ancient Persia, in exchange for a later reciprocal loan of the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran. The loan from Iran went ahead as planned – but once it came to the loan to Iran the British Museum has dragged their heels at every step of the way.

From:
Press TV

Iran vs. British Museum: Who will be the Loser?
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:59:56 GMT
By Kourosh Ziabari

In early February 2010, the longstanding conflict between Iran and Britain, over a temporary exhibition of an ancient Persian artifact in Tehran, reached a conclusion that Iran had warned against: the severing of cultural ties with British Museum over the loan of the Cyrus Cylinder.

Cyrus Cylinder is a declaration of kingship, inscribed on the surface of a clay cylinder upon the decree of glorious Persian king, Cyrus the Great, who issued the manuscript following his conquest of Babylonia in 539 BC.
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