The
National Museum of Iran (in
PersianPersian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: موزه ملی ايران
Mūze-ye Millī-ye Irān) is a museum in
TehranTehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
,
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It is the combination of two museums, the old
Muze-ye Irân-e Bâstân (Archaeological Museum of Iran, a break, Sasanian revival building and inaugurated in 1937), and the modernistic white travertine National Arts Museum ("Mūze-i Honar-i Millī"), inaugurated in 1972. The second structure, built on the grassy grounds of the old Archaeological Museum, went through quite a few, and hasty changes of the interior, and was still being remodeled when the Islamic Revolution swept the country in 1978.
While the old museum always had a clear mandate to show archaeological relics (to also include some rare medieval textiles and rug pieces), the new museum began its life by featuring the exquisite
AmlashAmlash is a city in and the capital of Amlash County, Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 15,047, in 4,350 families. Amlash sits at an altitude of 13 metres ....
pottery from the prehistoric Caspian Sea regions of Iran. This was followed by some modern arts, and the numerous gutting and remodeling of the interior. It was only after the Islamic Revolution than the new building was appended to the old, to form the "National Museum of Iran." The two buildings are dedicated respectively to the pre-Islamic collection (the old break building), while the new, travertine building contains post-Islamic artifacts. Together, they preserves ancient and medieval
PersianThe Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
antiquities including pottery vessels, metal objects, textiles, books, coins etc.
Building One consists of three halls. The three halls contain artifacts from the lower, middle, and upper
PaleolithicThe Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
, as well as the
NeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, Chalcolithic, early and late
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, and
Iron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
s I-III, through the
MedianIn probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
, Achaemenid, Seleucid,
ParthiaParthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, rulers of the Parthian Empire....
n, and Sassanid periods.
The post-
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic part of the museum was inaugurated in 1996 and consists of three floors. It contains various pieces of pottery, textiles, texts, artworks, astrolabes, and adobe
calligraphyCalligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
from
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
's 1,400-year Islamic history.
The original museum (Building One) was designed by
Andre GodardAndré Godard was a French born archeologist, architect and art historian.Godard was born in Chaumont. A graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts of Paris, he designed the National Museum of Iran and was appointed its first director in 1936. He was also instrumental in the design of Tehran University...
, a
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
architectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. It is located in central
TehranTehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
Plans are underway for the construction of a new building, as the current one lacks the capacity and standards for preserving all of Iran's excavated treasures.
There are a number of research departments in the museum, including the
PaleolithicThe Paleolithic Age, Era or Period, is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools discovered , and covers roughly 99% of human technological prehistory...
Department, Center for Achaemenid Research, and Center for Ceramic Studies.
Collections
The oldest artefact in the museum are from
KashafrudKashafrud Basin is an archaeological site in Iran, known for the Lower Palaeolithic artifacts collected there; these are the oldest-known evidence for human occupation of Iran.,...
,
DarbandDarband may refer to:* Darband, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Union Council of Mansehra District, Pakistan* Darband , a town or district in Tajikistan's Region of Republican Subordination* Darband , a village attached to Iran's capital Tehran...
and
Ganj ParGanj Par is a Lower Paleolithic site located in the Gilan province in northern Iran.Located on an old western terrace of the Sefīd-Rūd River, the site was discovered by a team of archaeologists from the Center for Paleolithic Research of the National Museum of Iran in 2002.The Lower Paleolithic...
, sites that date back to the
Lower PaleolithicThe Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 2.5 million years ago when the first evidence of craft and use of stone tools by hominids appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the...
period.
MousterianMousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age.-Naming:...
stone tools made by
NeanderthalThe Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
s are also on display in the first hall. The most important Upper Paleolithic tools are from the
YaftehYafteh is a Upper Paleolithic cave located at the foot of Yafteh Mountain, north-west of Khoramabad, Western Zagros, Iran.The site was found and later excavated by two American archaeologists, Frank Hole and Kent Flannery, in the 1960s. It contained a thick Upper Paleolithic sequence which yielded...
Cave, dating back approximately 30,000-35,000 years. There are also 9,000 year old human and animal figurines from Teppe Sarab in
Kermanshah ProvinceKermanshah Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. The province was known from 1969 to 1986 as Kermanshahan and from 1986 to 1995 as Bakhtaran.-Counties:...
among the many other ancient artifacts.
See also
- Safir Office Machines Museum
The Safir Office Machines Museum is a private museum located in Tehran, Iran. It was founded in 2008 by Frashad Kamalkhani, the museum owner. It includes a collection of early office machines.-Collection:...
- Iranian Crown Jewels
The Imperial crown jewels of Iran include several elaborate crowns and decorative thrones, thirty tiaras, and numerous aigrettes, a dozen bejewelled swords and shields, a vast number of unset precious gems, numerous plates and other dining services cast in precious metals and encrusted with gems,...
- Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
Tehran's Museum of Contemporary Art is an art museum in Tehran, Iran.Inaugurated in 1977, and built adjacent to Tehran's Laleh Park, the museum was designed by Iranian architect Kamran Diba, who employed elements from traditional Persian architecture. The building can be listed as a contemporary...
(website)
- Iran's National Rug Gallery
Located in Tehran, beside Laleh Park, and founded in 1976, the Carpet Museum of Iran exhibits a variety of Persian carpets from all over Iran, dating from 18th century to present....
- Talar Vahdat Theater
- Darabad Museum of Natural History
- Iran Cultural Heritage Organization
- Azarbaijan Museum
- International rankings of Iran
- Malek National Library
- Surena
Surena or Suren may refer to either a noble family of Parthia also known as the House of Suren, or to a renowned 1st century BC General Surena who was a member of that family....
- Reza Abbasi Museum
The Reza Abbasi Museum is a museum in Tehran, Iran. It is located in Seyed Khandan. The museum is named after Reza Abbasi, one of the artists in the Safavid period.-History:...
External links