Last week, the Getty Villa Museum in Los Angeles, USA, exhibited 200 works from ancient Iran, from the Achaemenids to the Sassanids. The exhibits are from museums in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, including the Metropolitan, the Oriental Institute of Chicago, the Louvre, Berlin, and private collections. Among these works is a dagger attributed to Ardeshir I of the Achaeminid dynasty. Following the publication of this news, some archaeologists of Iran doubt the authenticity of some of these objects.
The Getty Villa Museum considers this exhibition important from the point of view that ancient Iran, historically known as Persia, dominated western Asia for more than a thousand years (c. 550 BC to 650 AD). With three native dynasties – The Achaeminid, the Parthians and the Sassanids – that controlled empires of unprecedented size and complexity. Their main military rivals were the ancient Greeks and Romans, who nevertheless actively engaged with each other in many aspects of court architecture, religion, and culture, as shown in their works of art.
The exhibition, held in 3 sections: the Achaeminid, the period after the Achaeminids (from Alexander’s invasion about 330 BC), and the Sassanid empire, aims to study the vast exchange of ancient Iran with Greece and Rome, by displaying this treasure. The objects on display clearly express these civilizations’ political and cultural identities, showing how each of these superpower civilizations created its image and how they influenced their rivals.
“Many of the remarkable artifacts of ancient Iran, which date back nearly 1,200 years, have been exhibited in the United States for the first time,” said Jeffrey Spier, curator of antiquities at the Getty Museum.
Touraj Daryayi, a historian and professor of Iranology at the University of California, who attended the opening ceremony, by publishing images of the exhibited items, also pointed out that some of them, like the dagger (Akinaka or acinaces) attributed to Ardeshir I of the Achaeminid dynasty, has been exhibited for the first time.
The exhibition of ancient Iran and the Classic World is scheduled to be open in Getty Museum until 10 August 2022 (17 Amordad 1401). In 2018, Getty Villa Museum had held such an exhibition for Egypt with the subject: “Beyond Nile; Egypt and the Classic World”. The originality of the Achaeminid dagger became questionable.”
Some archeologists, historians and linguists have questioned. However, some archaeologists, historians, and linguists have questioned the authenticity of some of these artifacts, such as the Achaemenid Golden Dagger, due to the vagueness of the place and time of their discovery.
Soheil Delshad, a researcher of ancient calligraphy, referred to the inscription of this dagger on his twitter account and read the three lines which were in 3 languages: ancient Persian, achaeminid Elamite and Achaeminid Babylonian, and wrote: “The reason it is attributed to Ardeshir I is probably due to the spelling of Ardeshir’s name in the Elamite and Babylonian versions and the difference in this spelling in the inscriptions of Ardeshir II.” Therefore, it is still too early to prove this work’s authenticity until further studies are obtained, and more detailed studies are needed.” He also pointed out that “With a few exceptions, most of the short inscriptions of Ardeshir I are in four languages”
Mehrdad Malekzadeh, an archaeologist, and history researcher, also wrote on his Instagram page about the dagger attributed to Ardeshir I of the Achaemenid dynasty, which is said to have been revealed for the first time in the exhibition “Ancient Iran and the Classical World”: Another forged Achaeminid style artifact: The motifs on the dagger are too crowded and exaggerated, compared with the razor and scabbard of the aquinax , which is embossed in the levee palace in Persepolis and has a unique style and dignity at the same time. In my opinion, the forger has tried to apply all the design elements of the Achaeminid period to this scabbard. The cuneiform on it also looks very clumsy” ISNA.
On his Instagram page, Shervin Farridenjad, a historian and professor of Iranian studies at the University of Berlin, Germany, wrote: “Separate confirmation of the authenticity of both the dagger and its inscriptions will have to wait a while.” (ISNA).
Touraj Daryayi: “I cannot comment on the authenticity of the aquinas. It is doubtful that Getty Museum can be deceived so easily.”
Following the question of the authenticity of the Acinaces sword (dagger of the Achaemenid kings) and some other artifacts on display at the Getty Villa Museum, Touraj Daryayi, historian and professor of Iranology at the University of California, who previously published a photograph of the dagger and wrote that Acinaces of Ardeshir I of the Achaeminid dynasty is being exhibited in the Getty Villa Museum in LA, commented about the doubts regarding the originality of this dagger: “I am a historian. I am not an expert to be able to give a definite opinion in such a field. Even if I was an expert in this field, how could I recognize its authenticity just be seeing the aquinas? This is a specialized job and has its specialists. It is impossible to do this easily even by looking at the work up close, let alone by looking at a photo from thousands of km away and saying it is forged. On the other hand, Getty Museum owners are rich enough to have the latest machines to identify and detail historical artifacts, using them to even identify how such a sword is hammered. However, I still emphasize that I do not know if this work is genuine or counterfeit. I’m sure that you cannot understand this with a photo. I am just a historian who enjoys seeing these works, and I published its photo.
He added: “Discussion and exchange of views is very good. It is a blessed event that such a discussion about this work has taken place, and people listen to it. But the point is, how can an expert say that this is a counterfeit? Of course, the evidence of the works on display in any museum may be found to be counterfeit, and Getty is no exception. But we cannot distinguish the authenticity of work remotely and only from the photograph. In addition, some museums sometimes keep fake objects because there is disagreement among experts. In such cases, and with careful examination, there is still disagreement among experts about the authenticity of a work. As for this Akinakis, some say that this object is so clean that it does not look real. But a museum that has been dealing with various antiquities for 50 years and has a department of experts is unlikely to be easily deceived. This is not the first time they have seen an ancient gold object and not paid attention to the details. It is common in many museums worldwide for some scholars to question the authenticity of an object, which is not surprising. Of course, the Getty exhibitor told me that this sword is ancient.
As for what has been suggested that this sword was the first Achaemenid acinacse, I must say that no, another acinaces similar to this one had already been displayed in a German museum. This dagger is not the first example of Achaemenid acinaces; another sword was found, part of which is not available. Although some suspected it was counterfeit, the German Museum displayed it a few months ago and published a book. Therefore, this is the second time we have seen an Achaemenid sword in the last three months. I reiterate that only an expert can comment on the authenticity of this acinaces by seeing it from close, and examining whether, for example, it is real, based on the type of pounding done on the gold.
In response to this question of ILNO that thought it is true that it is possible that the authenticity of this object cannot be determined in a picture, but tis aquinas was compared with the depictions of the Achaeminid levee palace and they say there are differences. They say the design of the dagger is somewhat crowded. As a historian, what is your opinion? Touraj replied: “My personal opinion is that it is the first time that in the past 3 months I have seen two aquinas that I had not seen before, we do not have anything for comparison purpose. I mean that we even do not know from where to start doing research on it. There is a big difference between seeing the design of an object and when you have it in your hands. This is a very new topic, and we cannot talk a lot about it without wanting to go on the margin. It is quite strange that some people say that the design on the dagger is very crowded and this is why it does not seem real!
Have we ever seen before another acinaces that is crowded or not crowded and comment on it? In the case of the raised designs of the levee palace, how much possibility would the artists have in those days, to paint the acinases on stone, with all its finesse and precision? Was the acinases of Ardeshir always in front of the artist’s eyes, at that time, in order to draw the designs perfectly? Would he see the need to do this in the first place? Were the designs of all daggers the same throughout the Achaeminid period? I should say that we cannot comment explicitly about this object being forged, of this object, and I would rather wait for a skilled archaeologist like Mr. Rudiger Schmidt or someone whose work is ancient Persian to examine this Aquinas and say, for example, that it is suspicious. Some people have thought that I am sensitive to it because I have published the photo. Is this object mine that I should show sensitivity about it? Have I confirmed its authenticity? I feel sorry that an important subject has been ignored and instead attention has been diverted to side issues.
He added: The Getty exhibition has displayed 200 valuable historical objects from the Achaemenid period to the end of the Sassanid period. Two hundred extraordinary items, some of which we have never seen before. For example, two portraits of the Sassanid Shah Narseh, a moghan seal, and Sassanid plates that have never been seen before. All these have gathered in one museum; each brought from different places and exhibited in a museum for the public to see. The Narseh portraits, for example, belonged to a French family with a gold frame around them and were sold at Christie’s auction. Or a plate from the Sassanid period that had a scene showing the king hunting ostriches, and because it belonged to a private collector it was never seen before. Objects were displayed in this exhibition that we did not know existed before, and that is why I was quite astonished. Getty museum is very rich. The museum now has about 44,000 antiquities.
The museum’s policy was to collect Roman and Greek artifacts from the past. However, over the past decade, the museum’s policies have changed, and its focus has shifted more to the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Iran. Mr. Timothy Potts, director of the Getty Museum, whose doctorate was in Mesopotamia in the third-fourth millennium BC, decided that not all of the museum will be about Roman and Greek art, and so began working on other civilizations, including Iran. This time, they took a further step and held an exhibition for 5-6 months. They also published an exquisite book in Germany about historical objects from the Achaeminid and Sassanid periods, which contained objects we had seen many times in museums such as the Louvre, Britain, and Germany. In addition, the Getty Museum itself has the most extensive collection of “Takuk” (rhyton) in Iran.
“As I said, a few years ago, they decided to hold an exhibition on the art of ancient civilizations, every two or four years. The first such a program was called “Beyond the Nile” about the Egyptian civilization, which was also very glorious. The second exhibition was supposed to be about Iran, but COVID-19 occurred and so it was postponed. I knew this Aquinas was going to be on display; since I was one of the authors of the articles in this book, I was invited to meet with the exhibition organizers before the official reopening. Because I was very excited about the exhibition, I said in an interview that a dagger was to be displayed in the collection, which is said to belong to Ardeshir I.
This interview caused the whole incident to be marginalized and all the discussions to be about the dagger. However, I was not responding to anyone and did not claim anything. Because, I believe we should see the main purpose of the exhibition, which displayed 200 valuable objects, and not be diverted to side issue. This exhibition is an opportunity to do research and is full of objects that we did not know existed before.
Sasanian plate with fish and sea birds design
A statue related to the Parthian king, Getty Ancient Iran Exhibition
A portrait of the Sassanid Shah Narseh in a gold frame, Getty Exhibition of Ancient Iran
Moghan seal belongs to the Sassanid period, Getty Exhibition of Ancient Iran
