TEHRAN – The British Museum is considering a plan to hold a joint exhibition of ancient relics at the National Museum of Iran, its director said in Tehran on Tuesday.

Hartwig Fischer expressed his interest to arrange the British Museum’s second exhibit in the near future in Tehran, IRNA reported.

“Although it’s the first time that I’m visiting Iran, I didn’t expect to see such a valuable treasure… the richness and diversity of art styles and historical eras displaying at the National Museum of Iran heavily influenced me,” IRNA quoted Fischer as saying.

In a meeting with the National Museum of Iran director Jebreil Nokandeh, they exchanged views on various museum catering issues, digital techniques for documenting and preserving cultural heritage, database development, student-oriented visits, amongst other subjects.

Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, the curator of Middle Eastern coins at the British Museum, accompanied Fischer during the visit.

The British Museum lent the Cyrus Cylinder, a fascinating Persian masterpiece, to the National Museum of Iran for an exhibition in 2010 and maybe to reciprocate generous loans made by the National Museum of Iran in 2005 and 2009 at the British Museum.

The cylinder was found during a British Museum excavation at Babylon in Iraq in 1879, and has been in the British Museum since then. It was originally inscribed and buried in the foundations of a wall after Cyrus the Great, the Persian Emperor, captured Babylon in 539 BC.

PHOTO: British Museum Director Hartwig Fischer looks at ancient vessels during his visit to the National Museum of Iran on December 19, 2017.

AFM/MQ/MG