Another part of the Achaemenid collection, kept by the Oriental Foundation of Chicago will soon be returned to the country.
The Director of the General Department of Museums and Historical and Cultural Movable Properties, pointed out that they will soon receive another batch of the Achaemenid tablets from Chicago Oriental Foundation, and said: “Some good news in this respect will soon be published.”
According to Ilna, returning historic objects to the country is one of the ongoing projects of the Cultural Heritage Department. In the first few months of 1401, we got the news of the return of two consignments of historical objects to Iran. Among these we can mention the return of 51 pieces of Bukan glazed bricks from Switzerland, which belong to 3000 years ago, after 4 decades of research and international legal dispute.
These 51 square bricks with glazed coating and designs such as winged lions and cows with human heads, kneeling men and women, and mythological figures are ancient works created by the Mannaeas (a people who lived in the northwest of Iran in the first millennium BC).
This year other historical objects were also sent back to Iran from France, such as tubular clay vessels from the First Iron Age, clay figurines from Middle Ilam, a natural bitumen vessel from the Middle Ilam period, clay figurine from the Islamic period, glazed clay effigy the Seljuk period, a clay plate from the Parthian period, in one batch.
During World War II, one of the French consulate’s military officers took these works out of Iran. They were delivered to the embassy in Paris and returned to Iran with the efforts of Iran’s cultural adviser.
It is said that some effective efforts were made in the past for restoring historical relics. There were 19 important files in this Department about the existence of 40,000 historic objects, and with perseverance and follow-up of the Ministry of cultural Heritage, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Organization of Islamic Culture and Communication.
Morteza Adibzadeh, director of the General Department of Museums and Historical and Cultural Movable Properties, told ILNA that the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism has been interacting closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the cultural diplomats, for the return of historical objects. We are now going through several files simultaneously, and we hope to be able to bring back several consignments of these objects to Iran, by the end of 1401.
He also explained about the list of files under investigation: “We will give out the list as soon as we get results. In the meantime, return and investigation of historical objects that were stolen from museums and other departments in the past few moths are being carried out, which we cannot disclose here. Of course, we have also included investigation of objects in the red list in our work program.
We can say that among the restoration files, the Achaemenid tablet inscriptions have become one of the most controversial cases in Iran. Archeologists found these tablets in Persepolis in the year 1313 solar calendar (1934). And, with the approval of the then government of Iran, were loaned to the University of Chicago for research and study. In the agreement between the parties, it is stated that “Iran will hand over clay tablets to the University of Chicago, which was engaged in the exploration of Takhte Jamshid (Perseh, Persepolis) for decoding and reading.”
After the research was conducted, some of the tablets were returned to Iran in 4 stages. In 1327 solar year, (179 pieces), 1329 solar year, (37 thousand pieces), 1383 solar year, (300 pieces) and finally in 1398 solar year, (1783 pieces) return to Iran. And yet, nearly 17,000 intact and broken pieces of inscribed tablets are still with the Oriental Institute of Chicago.
Although the officials of cultural heritage said that these works may be returned to Iran by the end of 1400, until now, four months have passed since 1401, and no action has been taken yet.
The Director of the General Department of Museums and Historical and Cultural Movable Properties also said about the impact of sanctions on the delay in the return of Achaemenid tablets: “The American court has voted for the return of Achaemenid tablets to Iran, and the Chicago Institute of Oriental Studies must implement this law. They are going through the necessary paperwork and correspondence, and the embargo does not affect this.”
In response to the question that if there is no problem involved, why are these pieces not returned to the country, Adibzadeh said: “Soon, we will witness the return of Achaemenid tablets to the country. The administrative procedure is being completed, and some good news will be published soon.”
