 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
موزهٔ ملی ایران Muze-ye Melli-ye Irān | |
 | |
 Facade of the National Museum of Iran, Tehran | |
 | |
| Established | 1937; 86 years |
|---|---|
| Location | Tehran,Iran |
| Type | Archaeology museum |
| Collection size | +3 million (300,000 on display)[1] |
| Visitors | 500,000 (2011)[2] |
| Director | Jebrael Nokandeh |
| Owner | ICHTO |
| Website | irannationalmuseum.ir |
TheNational Museum of Iran (Persian:موزهٔ ملی ایرانMūze-ye Melli-ye Irān) is located inTehran,Iran. It is an institution formed of two museums; theMuseum of Ancient Iran and theMuseum of the Islamic Era, which were opened in 1937 and 1972, respectively. The institution hosts historical monuments dating back through preserved ancient and medieval Iranian antiquities. It also includes a number of research departments, categorized by different historical periods and archaeological topics. National Museum of Iran is the world's most important museum in terms of preservation, display and research of archaeological collections of Iran, and currently displays works that express the richness ofhistory,culture,civilization,art,economic growth andtechnological achievements of Iran.[3]
For the first time, the proposal to create a place called "Museum" was made byMorteza Gholi Khan Hedayat.[4] He was thinking of creating a museum and an office called the Department of Antiquities to organize commercial explorations, but he did not achieve this goal. The first museum was established in 1916 under the name of "National Museum" or "Museum of Education" in one of the rooms of the Ministry of Education, which was located on the north side of theDar al-Funun school building.[5] This museum had 270 bronze artefacts (pottery, glass, coins, old weapons, seals, wooden objects, patches, books and textiles) which were collected by the employees of the Antiquities Department or donated by the people. In 1925, the objects of this museum were moved to the Mirorr Hall atMasoudiyeh Palace.
With the start of excavations by European archaeologists, especially the French archaeological team headed byJacques de Morgan in Susa (1897) the people's attention was drawn to the importance of cultural heritage. In 1927, the unconditional privilege of the French archaeologists in Iran was canceled. They were allowed to dig only inSusa.[6] Since Iran had decided to establish a national museum and library, the privilege of designing and implementing it was given to France.[7] For this purpose, French architectureAndre Godard came to Iran in 1929 to establish a museum and library and officially started his work.
The brick building of the Museum of Ancient Iran was designed by André Godard andMaxime Siroux in the early 20th century, and was influenced bySassanian vaults, particularly theTaq Kasra atCtesiphon.[8] Its construction, with an area of about 11,000 square metres (13,000 sq yd), began in 1935 and was completed within two years by Abbas Ali Memar and Morad Tabrizi. It was then officially inaugurated in 1937.[9]
TheMuseum of the Islamic Era was later built with whitetravertine on the grassy grounds of the Museum of Ancient Iran. It was still being remodeled when theIranian Revolution swept the country.
While the Museum of Ancient Iran always had a clear mandate to show archaeological relics, as well as some rare medieval textiles and rug pieces, the newer complex began to also feature theAmlash pottery from prehistoricCaspian Sea regions of Iran. TheMuseum of the Islamic Era exhibits over 1,500 works fromIlkanids,Seljuks,Timurids,Safavids,Qajars and more. The complex consists of three floors, and it also contains various pieces of pottery, textiles, texts, artworks, astrolabes, and adobecalligraphy, from Iran'spost-classical era.
.jpg)
The oldest artifacts kept at the Ancient Iran Museum are fromKashafrud,Darband, andShiwatoo, which date back to theLower Paleolithic period.Mousterian stone tools made byNeanderthals are also on display at the first hall of the Museum of Ancient Iran. The most important Upper Paleolithic tools are fromYafteh, dating back about 30,000 to 35,000 years. The Museum of Ancient Iran consists of two floors. Its halls contain artifacts and fossils from the Lower, Middle, and UpperPaleolithic, as well as theNeolithic,Chalcolithic, early and lateBronze Age, andIron Ages I-III, through theElamite,Median,Achaemenid,Seleucid,Parthian, andSassanian eras.
To celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2018, the museum hosted 50 masterpieces from theLouvre and theMusée national Eugène Delacroix.[10][11] The exhibition attracted over 250,000 visitors.[12][13]
In 2005–2006, the National Museum of Iran and theBritish Museum held a major exhibition. It was held in collaboration with the Iranian government, which loaned the British Museum a number of iconic artefacts in exchange for an undertaking that theCyrus Cylinder would be loaned to the National Museum of Iran in return.[14] The planned loan of the Cylinder was postponed to October 2009 following the June2009 Iranian presidential election.[15] The Cylinder was displayed in September 2010 for a four-month period.[16] The exhibition was very popular, attracting 48,000 people within the first ten days and about 500,000 people by the time it closed in January 2011.[17]
One of the other successful exhibitions, entitled "Evidence for Two Hundred Thousand Years of Human-Animal Bonds in Iran", ran from August to October 2014.[18]
An ancientSassanid relief (224 - 651 AD), illegally smuggled to theUnited Arab Emirates during theIran–Iraq War (1980-1988), and left there in 2006, was later seized in theUnited Kingdom in 2016. Its value at an auction could exceed £30 million.[19] The Iranian government was tracking the long-missing relief for years. In 2023,The Guardian reported that the relief had been discovered and confiscated atStansted Airport nearLondon.[20] The British Museum received permission to display the relief for a short period of time, and then returned it to Iran. After 35 years, on 28 June 2023, the Sassanid relief returned to Iran and a well-received exhibition was held. It is now permanently displayed at the National Museum of Iran.[21]
After 85 years, Iran showcased 3,506Achaemenid tablets at the National Museum on May 18, 2024, after legally reclaiming them from theUS in 2023. The tablets, which were originally provided to theUniversity of Chicago for study in 1930s, were discovered in Persepolis and lent to the United States for a three-year study period. The tablets were repatriated on the plane that also brought home the Iranian delegation fromNew York, after it attended theUnited Nations General Assembly. The tablets are among the most important works of Iranian history, and contain vital insights into road resource management, social relations, basic necessities of life, wages, and the economy of Achaemenid society, related to the reign ofDarius the Great (522–486 BC).[22][23][24][25]
| Department | Head |
|---|---|
| Paleolithic Department | Fereidoun Biglari |
| Osteological Department | |
| Prehistoric Department | Fariba Mojezati |
| Historic Department | Firouzeh Babaei |
| Islamic Department | Karam Mirzaei |
| Coins and seals Department | |
| Inscriptions Department | Piran |
| Pottery Department | Omolbanin Ghafouri |
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(December 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Name | Education/Activities |
|---|---|
| Andre Godard (1939-?) | Frencharchitect,archaeologist andresearcher. Head of the department of Antiquities and Museum of Ancient Iran and the founder of the National Museum of Iran. The designer of:National Library building,the tomb of Hafez,the tomb of Ferdowsi andthe tomb of Saadi. The founder of the faculty of Fine Arts in theUniversity of Tehran, and the first manager of this faculty. |
| Jebrael Nokandeh (Since 2015) | PhD in archeology from the Institute of Near Eastern Archeology (Berlin). Opening the section related to the prehistoric period, completing the restoration operation of the Museum of Islamic Arts after 9 years, integrating the data of different sections, organizing storage areas and producing different catalogs of the museum's important collections, and holding joint programs between the National Museum of Iran and the largest museums around the world such asLouvre,Museum Island etc. |
_Amar_Merdeg%2c_Mehran%2c_Ilam%2c_Lower_Paleolithic%2c_National_Museum_of_Iran.jpg)
.jpg)
_Tappeh_Sarab%2c_Kermanshah_ca._7000-6100_BCE_Neolithic_period%2c_National_Museum_of_Iran.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
![One of the four remaining statues of Penelope was discovered in Persepolis. The other three are at Vatican Museum and Capitoline Museum.[26]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAchamanid-Woman-Statue-Persia-Persepolis.jpg)
_18th_century_CE%2c_Qajar_period%2c_National_Museum_of_Iran.jpg)
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)
35°41′13.36″N51°24′52.60″E / 35.6870444°N 51.4146111°E /35.6870444; 51.4146111
Tehran province, Iran | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Counties andcities |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Landmarks |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Populated places | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
^* indicates that this formerly independent city is now absorbed into Tehran. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
