Monday, 30 September 2013

Empress Farah Pahlavi and H.I.H. Reza Pahlavi
 
visit the "Cyrus Cylinder"
displayed at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery - Washington DC
March 20, 2013

بازدید استوانه کوروش



 
On March 20, 2013, Julian Raby, the Dame Jillian Sackler Director of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., hosted a reception in honor of H.I.H. Reza Pahlavi and H.I.M. Farah Pahlavi for a private viewing of the exhibition "THE CYRUS CYLINDER AND ANCIENT PERSIA: A NEW BEGINNING".

Left to right:
Julian Raby, The Dame Jillian Sackler Director, Massumeh Farhad, Chief Curator and Curator of Islamic Art Freer Gallery of Art/Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Smithsonian Institution,
HIM Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi,  H.I.H. Reza Pahlavi, HIH Yasmin Pahlavi
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The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning
March 9–April 28, 2013
Click to see slideshows and more: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Modest in scale and appearance, the Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most important and iconic objects in world history. The origins of this baked clay object, which was buried as a foundation deposit, can be traced to the Persian king Cyrus the Great’s conquest of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. It bears an inscription, written in Babylonian cuneiform, that claims Cyrus’s victory over the last Babylonian ruler, Nabonidus. Also in this text, Cyrus declared religious freedom for his newly conquered people. He encouraged Jews to return to Jerusalem and build the second temple, which earned him the title “shepherd of God” and even the “Lord’s anointed” (Messiah) in the Book of Isaiah. Although the Cylinder was not discovered until 1879, Cyrus’s support for religious tolerance has inspired generations of philosophers, rulers, and statesmen—from ancient Greece to the Renaissance, and from the Founding Fathers to leaders in the modern-day Middle East.

On loan from the British Museum, this remarkable object makes its US debut at the Sackler. It is shown with a number of key items that offer insight into the religious, cultural, and linguistic traditions of the vast and powerful Achaemenid Empire (539–331 BCE) founded by Cyrus the Great.

The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: A New Beginning is organized by the British Museum in partnership with the Iran Heritage Foundation and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Major support for the Sackler’s presentation is provided by the Leon Levy Foundation.

At the Sackler Gallery March 20, 2013
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From left to right:
H.I.M. Empress Farah Pahlavi, Princess Nour Pahlavi,  Princess Yasmin Pahlavi,  Princess Farah Pahlavi, H.I.H. Reza Pahlavi and Princess Iman Pahlavi
at the Sackler Gallery  Washington DC- March 20, 2013

With little Princess Iryana daughter of my dear son the late Prince Alireza Pahlavi
 

H.I.H Reza Pahlavi recalled that "as an Iranian, I am both humbled and proud at the sight of Cyrus' cylinder; a reminder to all mankind of the principles of
tolerance and freedom of all faiths observed throughout our once great Empire".
شاهزاده رضا پهلوی :

 به عنوان یک ایرانی با افتخار به بازدید استوانه کوروش شتافتم که یادآوری است برای بشریت که امپراطوری پرشکوه
ایران چگونه احترام و آزادی را برای تمامی باورهایی که درگستره آن می زیسته اند پاس می داشته است


 

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