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.

100 pictures related to this museum

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