[MSN] Bas-relief of Achaemenid soldier of Persepolis Despite all oppositions made by Iran regarding the sale of the head of the Achaemenid soldier, it has been sold in Christie's auction in London.

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Achaemenid Soldier Fetched in London 

Bas-relief of Achaemenid soldier of Persepolis  Despite all oppositions made
by Iran regarding the sale of the head of the Achaemenid soldier, it has
been sold in Christie's auction in London. 

Tehran, 27 October 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) - After years of struggle for
retrieval of the Iranian Achaemenid bas-relief soldier, smuggled from Iran
about 70 years ago, it has finally been acquired by an anonymous buyer at
Christies auction house in London for 580,000 pounds (about $1.2 million) on
October 25. 
 
The Achaemenid bas-relief had previously been withdrawn from Christie's sale
in April 2005 after Iran filed a lawsuit against the auction house in a
London court claiming ownership of this invaluable historic relic.  To prove
Iran's ownership, a documentary film and pictures of the excavations carried
out in Persepolis and a complete report of the archeology team working there
were submitted to the court.     
 
In a court session hold in London in January 2007 attended by authorities
and experts of Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO),
the British Court refused to rule in favor of Iran for the retrieval of the
Achaemenid bas-relief and referred the case to the Appeal Court for further
investigation. 
 
However, the Appeal Court also rejected Iran's claim last February, arguing
that the item had previously been sold twice during sales in New York
without any objection on the part of Iranian officials. 
 
However, what is the most important in this regard is that decades of
neglect in redeeming the Achaemenid soldier and return it back to its
homeland has resulted in losing an invaluable piece of Persian cultural
heritage which belongs to Iranian nation. Now the question is that who will
be responsible in front of next generations? 
 
Earlier to this, deputy head of the legal department of ICHTO had announced
that the best alternative for Iran to put an end to the controversy of the
Achaemenid bas-relief would be to start direct negotiations with its French
owner to take it back to its home country. Negotiating with authorities of
British government and UNESCO were the other approaches suggested by Omid
Ghanami. It was also suggested to Iran that it should purchase the
Achaemenid bas-relief, apparently the suggestion was rejected by Iranian
authorities because they believed that purchasing the bas-relief by Iran
would legitimize the illegal action of smuggling historical artifacts.
However with wasting time and taking no serious action in this regard, Iran
has lost a part of its cultural heritage. 
 
Iran says UNESCO has not supported the country to return its stolen
Achaemenid bas-relief. ICHTO has accused UNESCO for failing to fulfill its
duty in this regard. ICHTO has already warned that Iran will file a lawsuit
against any owner of the antique who takes it out of England. 
 
 
The relief was unearthed during archeological excavations in 1933 and was
sold in 1974 in an auction in New York. The then government of Iran did not
take any legal action to stop the piece from being auctioned off and so the
bas-relief was sold to Denyse Berend, a French collection owner who kept the
piece for 30 years in her private collection in France. 
 
The limestone relief is said to have come from the stairways of a palace
built by Xerxes I (486-465 BC) in Persepolis world heritage site located in
southern Iranian province of Fars. 
 
According to Christie's auction house, the relief was bought by an anonymous
client who intends to loan and eventually denote this historic artifact to a
European institution in gratitude for the work done by such an institution
in promoting Iranian history, art and culture. 
 
It is a real pity to witness the sale of a nation cultural heritage; this is
while international conventions have banned stealing or illegally
transferring items of a country's cultural heritage to other nations. 
  
Despite what has happened to Achaemenid bas-relief, public opinions in all
over the world are completely aware of the real identity of the Achaemenid
soldier and the fact that it is an inseparable part of Iran's ancient
history and cultural heritage. Whatever happens and wherever it goes from
Achaemenid seat in Fars to London and New York, all Persepolis artifacts are
part of the national cultural heritage of Iran.      
 
 
Soudabeh Sadigh
foreigndesk at chn.ir

http://www.chnpress.com/