TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, Ali Darabi, embarked on a noteworthy visit to the Reza Abbasi Museum and Islamic Era Museum on Saturday.

Accompanied by key figures including Nahid Najafi, the museum's director, Hadi Mirzaei, the Director-General of Museums, and Parham Janfeshan, the Director-General of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts of Tehran Province, Darabi delved into the rich cultural tapestry of the Reza Abbasi Museum. Najafi provided insights into the museum, which houses a diverse collection spanning from pre-Islamic to Qajar periods, featuring captivating halls dedicated to Islamic art, painting, and calligraphy. Notably, she highlighted that a substantial portion of the museum's exhibits undergo annual rotations to ensure sustained visitor engagement.

Darabi underscored the vitality of the Reza Abbasi Museum, pointing out the museum's commitment to vibrancy through the orchestration of seminars and interdisciplinary initiatives.

Named after one of the greatest artists of the Safavid era, Reza Abbasi Museum embraces several permanent exhibition halls, each dedicated to an epoch of Iranian arts and history.

The museum’s treasure trove contains artifacts made of baked clay, metal, and stone from prehistoric times to pottery and metal objects, textile and lacquer paintings, manuscripts, and jewelry belonging to the Islamic period. The displays are set according to the time interval from the 7th millennium BC to the early 20th century.

Continuing his cultural exploration, Darabi proceeded to the Islamic Era Museum, a facet of the National Museum of Iran. Located in the courtyard of the National Museum of Iran, the three-story building of the Islamic Era Museum was established in 1996 in an area covering about 4,000 square meters.

During this insightful visit, Darabi stressed the enduring significance of international events such as the exhibition titled "The glory of the ancient Persia: Exhibition of Iranian cultural relics" in China, emphasizing their pivotal role in showcasing and promoting Iran's rich cultural heritage and history.

The exhibition takes place at Beijing's Palace Museum and runs until April 11, 2024. A total of 216 cultural relics at the exhibition, which were collected by multiple museums in Iran, reveal the artful charm of ancient Iran as a crucial hub for East-West cultural exchanges.