Tehran, National Museum

Q1631008

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 Urartian 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

Persepolis, Tripylon, Staircase	Susa, Statue of Darius, once erected in Egypt, but later brought to Susa.	Persepolis, Inscription XPh ("Daiva inscription")	Hamadan, Achaemenid rhyton
Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject hlhdy (OP. Gandâra = Gandara)	Valkash	Persepolis, Tripylon, Lamassu capital	Tepe Sialk, Cup from the fourth millennium decorated with a human figure
Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject m'g (Maka)	Bahram V	Susa, Inscription DSy	Persepolis, Treasury, Statue of Penelope
Susa, Hellenistic portrait of a Muse	Tepe Sialk, Cup from the first millennium	Susa, Inscription A2Sb	Persepolis, Apadana, Dog's head
Damghan, Sasanian relief	Iranian Azerbaijan, Stone weight	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject Hgr (Hegra, i.e., Arabia)	Hamadan, Achaemenid torque
Susa, Statue of Darius, Darius' name as cartouche: drjwS	Persepolis, Palace of Darius, Relief of a sphinx	Susa, Statue of Darius the Great, left-hand side of the base	Susa, Relief of Artabanus IV
Iranian Azerbaijan, Disk with a deity with two wild animals	Hamadan, Achaemenid statuette of a bull	Hamadan, Achaemenid cup with relief of a winged lion	Persepolis, Queen's Quarters, Inscription XPf, Babylonian text
Susa, Inscription A2Sd	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject sk3tl3 (OP. Skudra = Thrace)	Persepolis, Portrait of an Achaemenid woman or beardless prince	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Weapon carrier, Akinakes
Yazdgard I	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject s3htjl (OP. Bâkhtriš = Bactria)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief (Proskynesis scene)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Guard, "Apple"
Persepolis, Treasury, Weight DWc	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject ch3rs3m' (OP. Uvârazmîy = Chorasmia)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Guards	Persepolis, Apadana, Inscription XPg
Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject t3 tjmhw (OE. Tjemehu = Cyrenaica)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Darius	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Darius' flower	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject m'dy (OP. Mâda = Media)
Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Guard, Weight	Peroz I	Tepe sialk, Jar from the fourth millennium BCE, decorated with ibexes	Hellenistic portrait of a queen
Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject pls (OP. Parsa = Persis)	Royal Warrior	Persepolis, Queen's Quarters, Inscription XPf, Persian text (Tehran copy)	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject 3lm'yn3 (OP. Armina = Armenia)
Susa, Stone fish	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject sg?shkš (OP Sâka = Scythians)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Darius on his throne	Persepolis, Hall of 32 Columns, Plaque
Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Darius' stool	Persepolis, Palace of Darius, Doorknob with inscription DPi	Hamadan, Sasanian dish	Bahram IV
Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject pltiiw3 (OP. Parthava = Parthia)	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject '3ylm "Chiefs of Irem" (Elam)	Ardashir II (Hormizd I), coin	Amulet of Bes from Iran
Choga Zanbil, Inner Court, Statue of a cow	Sari, Sasanian plate	Susa, Sassanian portrait	Tepe Hisar, Late Bronze Age phial
Tepe Sialk, Early first millennium beak pot (2)	Head of a bronze statue of a Parthian prince, found at Shami, Khuzestan	Yazdgard II	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject sdgw3? (OP. Thataguš = Sattagydia)
Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Prince	Grey ware from Khurvin	Susa, Statue of Darius the Great, Belt with akinakes	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject gdpdk3y (OP. Katpatuka = Cappadocia)
Choga Zanbil, Ziggurat, Doorknob (Tehran)	Choga Zanbil, Ziggurat, Inner gate, Lock with Inscription	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject slng (OP. Zranka = Drangiana)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief
Susa, Inscription A2Sd	Susa, Statue of Darius the Great, Base with sema-tawy (front)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Pharnaces	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Weapon carrier
Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject skdy (OP. Sugda = Sogdia)	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject b3b3l (Babylonia)	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject spltj3 (OP. Sparda = Lydia)	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject t3 nhsy (Kush)
Susa, Inscription A2Sb	Achaemenid nobleman	Bishapur, Palace, Mosaic of a lady with flowers	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject hlw3 (OP. Haraiva = Aria)
Susa, Statue of Darius the Great, Base with sema-tawy (rear)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Incense burners	hndw3y (OP. Hinduš = India)	Persepolis, Apadana, Northern Stairs, Central Relief, Great Magian
Tepe Hesar, Figurine	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject 3Sw3l (Assyria)	Susa, Statue of Darius, Subject kmt (OE. Kemet = Egypt)	Susa, Handle of a Parthian coffin