Sumptuous Persian relics reveal legacy of cultural connections
Age cannot take the shine off their luster.
For more than 2,000 years, the monuments rising above the ground at Persepolis, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire, have borne witness to the apex of ancient Persia, an empire known for its power, affluence, and mixture of different cultures and peoples.
A replica of the stone column with a double-bull capital that was part of the Apadana Hall at Persepolis has been reconstructed in the eastern wing of the Meridian Gate Galleries in Beijing’s Palace Museum. Commissioned by King Darius the Great, who may have intended it to demonstrate the cultural diversity of his mighty empire, it combines Egyptian, Greek and Persian artistic elements.
Now, standing at the entrance to The Glory of the Ancient Persia, its replica ushers visitors into a remarkable dialogue among civilizations in this centuries-old building in the former Chinese imperial palace. The exhibition runs through April 11.
Sculptures, ceramics, glassware, paintings, and other artifacts spanning more than a millennium of history are among the 216 exhibits on loan from museums from all over Iran. Together, they tell a concise, but splendid saga.
“Iran is located on what was a crossroads of East-West cultural communication in ancient times, and its art combined elements from various cultures,” says Zhai Yi, a researcher at the Palace Museum and the curator of the exhibition. “It was influenced by many regions across Eurasia.
“From the precious collections of palaces to articles of daily use, in this exhibition, we want to reflect the marvelous material cultural heritage left by ancient Persia within the greater context of mutual learning between civilizations,” she adds.
Starting from the prehistoric period, the exhibition presents a panorama of Iranian history through the Achaemenid, Parthian (Arsacid) and Sasanian empires, to the Islamic dynasties that followed.
Silhouettes of Xerxes I, the legendary Persian king best known for his war against the Greeks, can be seen all over the exhibition. A stone foundation carved with his enthronement edict, written in old Persian cuneiform script, marks the beginning of a reign that cast a lasting influence on the trajectory of history.
Despite this, Darius’ image is more than the political ambition and belligerence with which he is associated by historians. Another exhibit, a bust in blue paste that was chosen to feature on the exhibition poster, shows another side of the legendary monarch.
Portrayed without a beard, the bust is thought to portray Darius in his early years, a time before he became a powerful monarch, when he was still just a handsome young man with a smiling face.
Elsewhere in the exhibition, a delicate gold rhyton (a conical drinking cup, sometimes used for ceremonial purposes) emblazoned with a winged lion is testament to the prosperity of his time.
“Before the Achaemenid Empire was established, the Iranian Plateau was home to numerous kingdoms and ethnic groups,” Zhai explains. “This melting pot of cultures laid the groundwork for the country’s rich and inclusive artistic heritage.”
First referred to as Anxi (based on the Chinese pronunciation of Arsacid) in ancient documents during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24), Persia had a long history of exchange with China.
Throughout the exhibition, similarities between the two civilizations can be seen in the artifacts on display. For example, some of the richly painted pottery, which is thousands of years old, may remind visitors of early Chinese counterparts.
First made in the Zagros Mountains, pottery has an 8,000-year history in Iran. However, while China eventually turned to using high temperatures to produce porcelain, Iran favored the making of low-temperature glazed ware.
Lusterware, a type of ceramic with a metallic appearance, became characteristic in Iran after the 12th century.
“Persian traditions also provided space for the development of glass production due to the need to contain spices and food,” Zhai says.
The Great Wall may be one of the best-known landmarks of ancient China, but Iran had its own counterpart, the Great Wall of Gorgan. Spanning 200 kilometers in northern Iran, this defensive system dating back to the fifth to sixth centuries was also witness to confrontations and mixing between nomadic and agrarian cultures.
Through the jars and cooking pots unearthed by the wall on display in the exhibition, visitors are able to imagine the way frontier soldiers once cooked.
Following its adoption of the Arabic script, many artistic forms developed in Persian writing.
“That makes Persian one of the few writing systems in the world to have calligraphy,” Zhai says.
In China, which has its own long tradition of calligraphy, this crosscultural resonance may be particularly cherished.
A red painted plate with Persian and Arabic inscriptions is the only artifact in the exhibition that comes from the Palace Museum’s own collection. Made during the rule of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Emperor Zhengde (1506-21) and bearing the dates of his reign, it was once part of the Chinese imperial collection.
It echoes another exhibit found in a sage’s tomb in Ardabil, Iran. The blue-and-white bowl is marked with the dates of Ming Emperor Xuande’s reign (1426-35).
As the great mariner Zheng He and his fleet set out on their seventh and final voyage around that time, visiting present-day Hormuz in Iran, Zhai says that this small, yet significant, porcelain bowl may stir romantic thoughts of the Maritime Silk Road.
When Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) in China, his brother wrote a new chapter in the history of Persia by founding the Ilkhanate, which ruled over modern-day Iran, parts of the Middle East, the Caucasus and Central Asia, creating another link between the two countries.
On one of the edicts on display, the seal, which appears twice and likely dates from the 12th to 13th century, is in Chinese.
“A treasure to aid governing the country and stabilize life,” it reads.
The same seal can also be seen on the credentials the Ilkhanate sent to European nations, and which can be found in the archives of France and the Vatican today, a hidden corner of history that pays testament to the lengthy journeys Chinese characters underwent during the period.
“Persian civilization had an inclusive cultural ethos,” Zhai says. “In the confluence and mutual learning between cultures, it continues to reveal its brilliance and magnificence, even today. ”