Tehran, National Museum

I think that one of the problems with modern museums is that they try to evoke some kind of mysterious atmosphere: in poorly-lit rooms, you can see only a couple of objects lying there, beautifully spotlighted, just looking mysterious. The illumination allows you to look at it from one point of view, but not from other angles. Photography is almost impossible. In other words, you cannot study the objects.

I get the impression that museums are now leaving this cul-de-sac, and return to decent displays. The Archaeological Museum of Tehran has never succumbed to ill-directed aestheticism, and this makes it, easily, one of the better museums dedicated to ancient culture.

This does not mean that there are no beautiful objects. The first part, dedicated to the Neolithicum and Bronze Ages, culminates in the pottery from Susa, which is just splendid. Recently, this part has been redesigned; several objects from the important excavations at Jiroft have been inserted, to name but one change.

Passing along a nice sculpture of a bovine from Choga Zanbil, you will reach the Iron Age, where you will find an Assyrian and an Urartaean inscription, and countless small objects. They are interesting, but your attention is drawn by the great relief next to it, from the northern stairs of the Apadana in Persepolis. Next to it, about half-way through the exhibition, is the statue of Darius from Susa (more…). I visited the museum yesterday with an Egyptologist, who was fascinated by the hieroglyphs.

There are some other Achaemenid remains, including several inscriptions (like this one) and some fine art. Here, you will also see a Penelope in wet-drapery style, taken to Persepolis by either Xerxes or Mardonius.

Compared to the Achaemenid age, the Greek, Parthian, and Sasanian ages are a bit underrepresented. From the Greek age is a fine bust of a Muse, from the Parthian age is a splendid bronze statue of a prince (one of the few remaining bronze statues from Antiquity), and from the Sasanian age are the spooky salt men and some mosaics from Bishapur, made by Antiochene artists.

The museum has a treasury that contains precious objects, made of silver and gold, but it is often closed. Asking for permission to get there is futile. In this aspect, the Tehran Museum suffers from the same error as western museums: it creates obstacles for students. I think this is inexcusable. There is simply no reason why a museum should hide its entire collection from people who have made an effort to get there.

This being said, the Tehran museum is really something special. Next to it is the museum of Islamic Art, which has not been open for quite some time; I remember that I liked it very much. Around the corner you will find the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, situated in a building that is inspired by the Persepolis Apadana; and around another corner, you will find a charming museum dedicated to fine art made of glass. If you have only one day in Tehran, spend it in this part of the city.

This museum was visited in 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.

95 pictures related to this museum

skdy (OP. Sugda = Sogdia)	sdgw3? (OP. Thataguš = Sattagydia)	XPf, obverse: the "Harem Inscription"	Cup from the first millennium
Sassanian portrait	Statue of Darius the Great, base with sema-tawy (front)	Tepe Hisar, Late Bronze Age phial	A sphinx
XPf, Babylonian text	Inscription XPg	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, Darius on the throne	3Sw3l (Assyria)
hgr (Arabia	Hellenistic portrait of a queen	hlw3 (OP. Haraiva = Aria)	m'g (Maka)
Mosaic of a lady with flowers	Statue of Penelope, found in the Treasury of Persepolis	Damghan, Sasanian relief	Apadana, dog's head
pltiiw3 (OP. Parthava = Parthia)	'3ylm "Chiefs of Irem" (Elam)	spltj3 (OP. Sparda = Lydia)	The "Daiva inscription" (XPh)
Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, Weapon carrier	Cup from the fourth millennium	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, "apple"	sg?shkš (OP Sâka = Scythians)
ch3rs3m' (OP. Uvârazmîy = Chorasmia)	b3b3l (Babylonia)	slng (OP. Zranka = Drangiana)	Yazdgard I, coin
pls (OP. Parsa = Persis)	Achaemenid nobleman	Relief of Artabanus IV	Inscription A2Sd
Statue of Darius the Great, base with sema-tawy (rear)	Weight from Azerbaijan	Hellenistic bust of a Muse	Yazdgard II, coin
t3 tjmhw (OE. Tjemehu = Cyrenaica)	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, the guard's "bag"	Statue of Darius the Great, belt	A2Sd
kmt (OE. Kemet = Egypt)	Valkash, coin	3lm'yn3 (OP. Armina = Armenia)	Grey ware from Khurvin
Royal Warrior	Stone fish	Darius' name as cartouche: drjwS	Peroz I, coin
hlhdy (OP. Gandâra = Gandara)	Tepe Hesar, Figurine	Inner Court, Statue of a cow	A2Sb
Bahram V, coin	Handle of a Parthian coffin	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief	Pharnaces
Persepolis, Hall of 32 Columns, Plaque	Hamadan, Achaemenid rhyton	s3htjl (OP. Bâkhtriš = Bactria)	sk3tl3 (OP. Skudra = Thrace)
Statue of Darius the Great, left-hand side of the base	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, Weapon carrier, akinakes	Persian crown prince	Jar from the fourth millennium BCE
Darius	Early first millennium beak pot	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, Darius, stool	Persia's great magian
m'dy (OP. Mâda = Media)	Tripylon, lamassu	t3 nhsy (Kush)	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, Darius, flower
Central Relief of the North Stairs of the Apadana, Persepolis, now in the Archaeological Museum in Tehran (Iran).	Ardashir II (Hormizd I), coin	Persepolis, Treasury, weight DWc	Statue of Darius, once erected in Egypt, but later brought to Susa.
Head of a bronze statue of a Parthian prince, found at Shami, Khuzestan	Bahram IV, coin	Achaemenid woman (or a beardless prince)	A2Sb, inscription
Sari, Sasanian plate	Postern Gate, lock	Disk with a deity with two wild animals	gdpdk3y (OP. Katpatuka = Cappadocia)
Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, Incense burners	Inscription DSy	Doorknob frotm Choga Zanbil (Tehran)	Tripylon, staircase
hndw3y (OP. Hinduš = India)	Persepolis, Palace of Darius, doorknob	Persepolis, Apadana, Central Relief, Guards