Cyrus relic not to stay in Iran longer

The Director of the National Museum of Iran says the museum has not been officially informed of any decision to extend the exhibition of the Cyrus Cylinder.

Azadeh Ardakani said that the British Museum or Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHHTO) should officially inform the National Museum of Iran about such decisions.

Bloomberg reported this news and we do not “recognize” it as an official source, Ardakani told ISNA.

“I contacted Keeper of the Middle East collections of the British Museum John Curtis, but he said he knew nothing of such an agreement,” she added.

Bloomberg announced on January 4, 2011, that the British Museum had agreed to prolong the loaning period of the Cyrus Cylinder for three more months.

“This decision has been taken in recognition of the fact that the exhibition has proved to be very popular to date,” Bloomberg quoted the museum’s press office, adding that “the extension will give an opportunity for people from the provinces including school groups to visit.”

The Cyrus Cylinder was sent to Iran for a four-month exhibition which will end on January 10, 2011.

The cylinder was escorted by a delegation headed by John Curtis to the exhibition site where it was displayed for the first time in the past 40 years.

About 205,000 people have visited the Achaemenid artifact since the exhibition kicked off in September 2010.

The 2,500-year-old Cyrus Cylinder was to be temporarily handed over to Iran in September 2009. The British Museum, however, backed out of the agreement, citing Iran’s post-election unrest.

Tehran said it would cease cooperation with the British Museum until the cylinder is loaned to the National Museum of Iran.

Considered the world’s first charter of human rights, the clay cylinder is inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform with an account by Cyrus II, king of Persia (559-530 BCE).