Berlin museum asks Iran for support in staging Scythian exhibition
“Due to the fact that the Scythians also lived in Iran, the officials of the museum have asked the NMI to help them stage the exhibition,” NMI curator Mohammadreza Kargar told the Persian service of CHN on Tuesday.
A team of experts is studying ways the NMI can collaborate with the German museum, he added.
Scythians were a nomadic people originally of Iranian stock who migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Centered in what is now the Crimea, the Scythians founded a rich, powerful empire that survived for several centuries before succumbing to the Sarmatians between the 4th century BC and the 2nd century CE.
Their speech was a form of Iranian, one of the branches of the Indo-European language family. Scythians kept herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, lived in tent-covered wagons, and fought with bows and arrows on horseback. They developed a rich culture characterized by opulent tombs, fine metalwork, and a brilliant art style.
“German archaeologists have carried out many excavations at the ancient sites of Central Asia over the past few years and discovered a valuable collection of Scythian artifacts, which shed light on the lost corners of the people’s history. They plan to exhibit part of their findings,” Kargar said.
“The influence of Iranian civilization, particularly the Medians and Achaemenids, on the Scythians is an important point that should be considered. The exhibition would be incomplete without depicting this effect,” he noted.
The National Museum of Iran keeps a collection of Scythian artifacts discovered in modern Sistan-Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran and on the Caspian Sea coast.
The exhibition will run until October 1, 2007 at the Martin-Gropius-Bau and then will travel to Munich for a show at the Hypo Foundation for Culture from October 26, 2007 to January 27, 2008.
The Museum of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg will also host the showcase from February 15, 2008 to May 25, 2008.