The National Museum of Iran, Tehran

The National Museum of Iran, Tehran

The National Museum of Iran

One of the aims of the museum is to make the historical, cultural and artistic heritage of a nation, accessible to all through the orderly exhibition of objects. The history of Iran National museum has its roots in the journeys of Qadjar Nassireddin Shah, during which he was impressed by the different aspects of modernity he had discovered in Europe. This influence was therefore the starting point for the birth of one of the first ancestors of the Iranian museums, which was a part of the Royal Citadel (arg-e saltanati), which brought together private collections. The appearance of museums as genuine public institutions began in the 1930s with the appearance of the Iran National Museum (mouzeh-ye melli).

The National Museum of Iran is one of the most important and rich centers in the field of historical and archaeological research of the country and the region. The style of the architecture of the National Museum of Iran is the work of the French architect, André Godard, who strove to create a harmony between the building plan and the objects he was going to shelter. As a result, the facade of the building, made of dark red and black bricks, resembles Ardeshir's palace at Firouz Abad in the province of Fars, and its arched pediment evokes the Sassanids and their grandiose monument called Arc from Kasra. This is why the building housing the objects in Iran National Museum is considered to be part of the historical works.

Look at the Iran Tours to explore the attractions or send us a Message

History of the National Museum of Iran
The idea of ​​creating a museum to show, preserve and collect the Iranian cultural heritage was first presented by Sani-ol-Doleh, head of the Ma'aref Association, an organization whose goal was to create modern schools and promote culture.

In Tehran, in one of the big halls of this association, on the north of the school building Darolfonoun (Ecole Polytechnique), a first "national museum" (mouzeh-ye melli) also called "museum of knowledge" (mouzeh-ye ma'aref) was founded in 1916. Parallel to and following archaeological excavations carried out by French delegations on several Iranian sites, the Bureau of Antiquities (edareh atighat) was founded in 1918 by the government of the time in the same building of the Association Ma'aref. The destruction of historical monuments and the plundering of cultural treasures on the one hand, and the increase of patriotic movements on the other, prompted a number of cultural enthusiasts to found the Association of National Works ( anjoman-e asar-e melli) in 1926. Thanks to the efforts of the founders of this association, a law allowing the conservation of national works in Iran was passed, which was a favorable ground for the construction of a real museum. In 1928, Andre Godard, French architect and archaeologist, was responsible for overseeing the establishment of a national museum. For this purpose, he gained the post of Director of Archaeological Services of Iran, developed a policy of excavations and conservation of discovered objects, and also drew the plans of the National Library (ketabkhâneh-ye melli) and the National Museum of Iran (Mouzeh-ye Melli) in 1930.

The construction of the Iran national museum building began in 1934 and was completed in 1937, when the museum was inaugurated. Covering an area of ​​7500 m², Iran National Museum included various sections (including many objects from the prehistoric, ancient and Islamic periods) as well as a special exhibition hall, a photography room, a treasure room (Ganjineh) and etc. In 1996, the section devoted to the Islamic period was transferred to a new building erected right next to the old one. Thus, in 1997, during a ceremony in the presence of the President of the Republic at the time and several ministers of culture of OECD member countries Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the section devoted to the Islamic era was officially separated from the main building to become an independent museum. Today, the old Iran Museum ( mouzeh-ye iran-e bastan ), or the main building, and the Museum of the Islamic period (mouzeh-ye doran-e eslami) constitute together the National Museum of Iran.

Now, the administrative complex of the National Museum also includes other museums such as the Reza Abbasi Museum, the Abguineh Museum which exhibits many works made of glass and ceramics, the National Arts Museum (mouzeh honar -haye melli) or the Carpet Museum (mouzeh-ye farsh).

The Library of the National Museum of Iran 
The Iran National Museum Library, officially inaugurated in 1937 in the main building of the National museum of Iran, had nearly 1,000 books in Persian and European languages ​​borrowed from the Ma'âref Association's library. The liberary never ceased to grow rich. Since its creation, this library has been a place frequented by elites, as well as many scholars and researchers.

Look at the Iran Tours to explore the attractions or send us a Message

The library currently has nearly 20,000 books and periodicals in different languages, and is one of the main centers of study in the history of ancient Persia, India and other countries in the region. The Iran National Museum Library has also developed numerous links and established cooperation and information exchange agreements with national scientific institutes and national and international museums.

The section of the so-called "prehistoric" period
Prehistory, often considered as the period beginning with the appearance of humanity and ending with the appearance of the first written documents, is one of the richest sections of the Iran National museum. It was founded at the inauguration of the National Museum of Iran and presents objects from various prehistoric civilizations that existed between the 7th and 1st millennium BC. This section continued to be enriched by a very large number of objects and works of great value discovered during archaeological excavations of recent decades. The section exhibits nearly 10,000 objects made of clay, brass, stone, etc.

The oldest objects allow the visitor to travel 800,000 or even a million years, that is, to go back to the Lower Pleistocene era. These ancient objects, all made of stone, were discovered in Khorasan-e-Razavi Province, near the ancient Kashf-Rud River, near the village of Iravan in 1974 during archaeological excavations by a professor. from the University of Bordeaux.

The museum also contains many objects dating from the sixth and fifth millennium BC. BC to realize the advances of the inhabitants of Persia at that time. The majority of these objects were discovered in the historical sites of Tappeh Sarab, Ali Kosh, Tcheshmeh Ali, or Esmâil Abâd, a village near Karadj where were found containers of red earth and clay with floral motifs and geometric, or representations of men and animals. These objects have similarities to those found in other prehistoric sites of the country, named Tappeh Sialk in Kashan, Geyan in Hamadan, or Ghareh Tappeh in Shahriyar. Among the most interesting objects discovered in the hills of Sarab (tappeh Sarab) located near the province of Kermanshah, is the sculpture of a terracotta woman dating back to the sixth millennium BC.

A collection is also devoted to objects dating from the 4th and 3rd millennium BC, and includes many pieces of terracotta and ceramic discovered after excavations carried out by a French team in 1942. The visitors can admire a very fine vase on which is painted a goat, object belonging to the funerary furnishings of the first inhabitants of Susa. The style of the ceramics is related to that of the plain of Susiane which was dominated by Susa since its foundation. Another copy of this kind of vase is on display at the Louvre Museum.

These collections of objects from the 3rd millennium BC were enriched by coins discovered in the temple of ziggurat, located in Tchogha Zanbil, Elamite complex located in the province of Khuzestan. It is at the north-eastern entrance of the ziggurat that the archeological team headed by Roman Ghirshman, a French archaeologist and historian of Ukrainian origin, noted the existence of an enamelled terra-cotta bull with the name of the Elamite king, Untash-Napirisha, and dedicated to the Inshushinak and other gods of the city of Susa.

Finally, several collections in Iran National Museum collect objects dating from the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, discovered in various archaeological sites of the country as the site of Marlik in Guilan province, Tappeh Hasanlou located in the province of Western Azerbaijan, etc. From this last site, a vase with a handle and a beak on white and black pedestal, or a brass rhyton dating from IX century BC were found. The rhyton is a vase in the form of an animal's head, used for drinking during certain ceremonies and religious rituals. A significant part of the objects of this period, exhibited in the National Museum of Iran comes from the province of Guilân, which is home to many historical sites, and where many different kinds of dishes (ewers, covered cuts, pitchers, jars), terracotta objects (carved animals, rhytons), weapons (swords, weapons, arrows), plows primitive, as well as jewelry (bracelets, necklaces, gold chains, mirrors, etc.) were found.

Finally, several collections collect objects dating from the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, discovered in various archaeological sites of the country as the site of Marlik in Guilan province, Tappeh Hasanlou located in the province of Western Azerbaijan, etc. From this last site, a vase with a handle and a beak on white and black pedestal, or a brass rhyton dating from IX century BC were found. The rhyton is a vase in the form of an animal's head, used for drinking during certain ceremonies and religious rituals. A significant part of the objects of this period comes from the province of Guilân, which is home to many historical sites, and where many different kinds of dishes (ewers, covered cuts, pitchers, jars), terracotta objects (carved animals, rhytons), weapons (swords, weapons, arrows), plows primitive, as well as jewelry (bracelets, necklaces, gold chains, mirrors, etc.) were found.

The section of the "Historical Period"
The different objects of the section of the so-called "historical" period, exhibited on the first floor of the National Museum of Iran, are mainly of two types: objects relating to the province of Lorestan and objects relating to the various dynasties of Persia before the arrival of Islam (from the Achaemenid Empire to the Sassanids).

The province of Lorestân, located on the west of Iran in the middle of the Zagros Mountains, is one of the oldest regions of Iran whose civilization dates from the third and fourth millennia BC. Various objects of great wealth from 263 sites of cultural and historical importance of Lorestan show us many bronzes in human form, animal or fantasy dating back to Iron Age, as well as practical objects such as weapons in stone, iron, or even in the air.

The Salt Man
The city of Zanjan, located in northwestern Iran, has many sites of cultural and historical interest. But a surprising discovery that is Kept in Iran National Museum is the first salt man dating back to 1700 years ago and the beginning of the Sassanid period. In the winter of 1993, in the western parts of the town of Zanjan, miners discovered a bearded head with long hair and a leather boot. A few months later, the Tourism, Handicrafts and Cultural Heritage Organization began research on this man of salt discovered in the Chehrabad salt mine, in the middle of a tunnel, at a depth of 45 meters. In the leather boot, a left foot and some objects were found, including three iron knives, a sharpening stone, short wool trousers, a sling, a silver needle, pieces of leather rope, fragments of cloth and pieces of pottery, and a walnut. Archeological experts have estimated the age of the salt man at 1700 years after analyzing his clothes and gold earring.

The Achaemenid Empire (648-330 BC)
Among the most impressive objects of the Iran National museum are those from the Achaemenid dynasty, founded by Cyrus II to 556 BC. BC, and especially large pieces of the stones of the palace of Darius, found through excavations carried out in sites such as Pasargad.

Terracotta floor tiles, which were the backdrop for the huge buildings of Persepolis and Susa, are also on display. All the objects on display testify to the majesty of the glory of the Achaemenids. The objects include the statue of Darius I with a height of two meters, the shelves, the various pieces of stone and terracotta, or the relief drawings illustrating the public audience of the king, Darius, accompanied by the crown prince, spearmen, and a Median disciple.

The Seleucid Empire (330-150 BC)
The Syro-Iranian dynasty of the Seleucids, founded by Alexander, reigned until the 2nd century BC, in the continuity of the Achaemenid Persians. Among the many exhibits dating from this empire in Iran National Museum, we can mention the golden masks of the Seleucid king Antiochos IV discovered in the village Shemi Darmal in Lorestan, the stone tablets of the time of the Seleucid king Antiochos III discovered in Nahavand, or the bronze statues representing the Greek gods.

The Parthian Empire (250 BC-226 BC)
Most museums have very few objects about the Parthian dynasty, which is not the case with the National Museum of Iran, which has many pieces dating back to that time, such as the marble bust of Musa or a relief from the time of the last Seleucid Parthian king Artaban V. The centerpiece of this ensemble is the bronze statue of General Surena, winner of Crassus, whose image is presented as one of the symbols of Parthian civilization and culture in textbooks in Iran.

Look at the Iran Tours to explore the attractions or send us a Message