October 23, 2010
Cyrus Cylinder loan to Iran by British Museum finally goes ahead
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 artifactTEHERAN – 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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