TEHRAN – A massive sculpture of Sadi, one of the greatest figures in classical Persian literature, was unveiled in Tehran on Sunday.

The 3.2-meter high bronze statue mounted on a 4-meter stone base has been placed at the junction of Sadi Street and Enqelab Avenue.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad-Mehdi Esmaeili, Academy of Persian Language and Literature director Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and members of the Tehran City Council.

“Sadi is the eternal teacher of the Persian language… whoever has learned the language is a disciple of Sadi,” said Haddad-Adel who is also the director of the Sadi Foundation, a Tehran-based organization that promotes the Persian language abroad.

Sculptor Dehqan Mohammadi spent a year and a half making the sculpture, which is said to be the tallest bronze statue ever set up in the city. 

His design for the sculpture was selected from among submissions sent to the Beautification Organization of the Tehran Municipality by over 40 obscure artists.

“This was a unique event that even young and obscure artists were allowed to enter a fair competition to produce a cultural symbol for the capital,” Mohammadi said.   

He said that his design had been inspired by a statue of Sadi created by the renowned Iranian artist Abolhassan Sediqi.

“The sculpture produced by master Sediqi features Sadi at age 30, but my statue of Sadi shows him at 70,” he explained.

The statue depicts Sadi walking with a book in his hand. 

“My sculpture of Sadi shows Sadi walking, because Sadi was in the habit of traveling all his life,” said Mohammadi, who has produced a number of statues located at various public places in Tehran.   

The stone base of the sculpture bears a Persian-English inscription providing a brief biography of Sadi.

There is also an inscription near the statue with a verse from his famous poem, “The sons of Adam are limbs of each other.”  

Sadi, the byname of Musharraf ad-Din ibn Muslih ad-Din, is famous worldwide for his Bustan (The Orchard) and Gulistan (The Rose Garden), which have been translated into many languages.

Iranians celebrate Sadi Day on 1st Ordibehesht (21 April this year) on their national calendar every year. The day marks the anniversary of the completion of the Gulistan.

Photo: Employees of the Beautification Organization of the Tehran Municipality clad in ancient Persian costumes attend the unveiling ceremony of a sculpture of the Persian poet Sadi in Tehran on April 30, 2023. (ISNA/Parisa Behzadi)

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