Why the Greeks Were Green with Envy - (The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies

Sometimes a single work holds the key to understanding an entire exhibition. In Forgotten Empire, the British Museum's ambitious show of art from ancient Persia, that work is a plaster cast of the splendid relief carvings in the Palace of Darius at Persepolis.

Achaemenid Stone relief showing gift-bearers with a vase from Persepolis. On loan from the Persepolis Museum, Iran

Normally, I don't think reproductions should be exhibited alongside original works of art, but in this case the plaster cast contains vital information about the rest of the exhibition.

The Persian Empire lasted only about 200 years, from about 550 BC to 331 BC, but at its height covered 2,900,000 square miles and stretched from the Nile to the Indus River. In the reliefs, we see delegations from subject people walking in solemn procession towards the throne of the Persian king.

In each of the five panels, an usher in Persian dress leads representatives of a conquered people - Lydians in cloaks and beehive-shaped hats, Cappadoceans in trouser suits and cloaks, Ionians in fringed cloaks, Parthians wearing headbands and belted tunics over trousers tucked into high boots, and bare-footed Indians in dhotis or short skirts.

Each delegation carries tribute - great bowls, oversized bracelets, chariots, horses, camels, textiles, axes and covered jars containing spices and ointments from the east. The wealth and luxury depicted in these scenes is characteristic of the art of the Persian court.

In this show, we see vitrines containing two massive gold bracelets in the form of eagle-headed monsters that might be the very ones the Lydians are shown bearing in tribute to Darius, as well as sumptuous vessels of gold and silver that have been cast, hammered, chased and inlaid to create the complex forms and patterns typical of the Persian court style.


	Achaemenid Gold griffin-headed armlet from the Oxus treasure (5th-4th century BC) from Tadjikistan

One of the most spectacular works on view is an over-lifesize panel made of coloured glazed bricks showing a palace guard wearing Persian costume. His tunic is decorated with an elaborate pattern of stylised flowers so rich in effect that I at once thought of the folded textiles carried by the Cappadoceans in the palace reliefs.

The Greeks were utterly fascinated by the ostentatious display of wealth practised by their enemies, the Persians. In what we would nowadays see as an example of Orientalism - attributing to eastern people qualities of voluptuousness and decadence - the Greek historian Herodotus never fails to note the luxury with which the Persians surrounded themselves.

For example, he describes in mouth-watering detail the treasure the Greeks discovered in the tents of a defeated Persian general, mentioning embroidered hangings and furniture covered in gold and silver, as well as wagon-loads of bowls, goblets and cups, all in precious metals.

Herodotus then tells us that the Greeks summoned the Persian bakers and cooks and told them to prepare a banquet of the same sort they were accustomed to cook for their former master. "The order was obeyed and when [the Greek general] saw gold and silver couches all beautifully draped, and gold and silver tables, and everything prepared for the feast with great magnificence, he could hardly believe his eyes for the good things set before them."

Tableware such as might have been used for such a banquet can be seen in objects from the Oxus Treasure in the BM - shown here alongside royal plate and jewellery from the great museums in Teheran and Persepolis - wonderful golden vessels, bracelets and necklaces inlaid with enamels, turquoise, lapis and cornelian.


A fluted Achaemenid silver drinking horn (5th-4th century BC) believed to be from near Erzincan, modern Turkey

There is a pair of gold earrings inlaid on both sides with a mosaic of lapis, and a golden drinking cup in the form of a winged lion, decorated with a frieze of stylised lotus flowers.

If I had to choose one object from the exhibition, however, it would be a gilded silver and bronze amphora handle in the form of a leaping winged ibex. The fairytale beast, with its gold wings and great curved horns, is as slim as a crescent moon and so light it has lost all contact with the earth.

There is an incense burner (or perhaps a hanging lamp) of cast bronze in the form of a conjoined circle of prowling lions. Unfortunately, it is shown at waist level, making it impossible to see what the photograph in the catalogue reveals: that the front and back paws of at least one of the lions are raised from the ground, immeasurably enhancing the naturalism of these wonderfully observed animals.

What makes the art in this show specifically Persian in character? In the exhibition we can see for ourselves the Persian taste for objects made of precious metals and their delight in the use of inlaying or cloisonné techniques. But to answer the question satisfactorily, you have to walk across the corridor from the entrance to the show to examine the famous Nimrud reliefs from Assyria, carved in 865-860 BC.

These all show scenes of royal hunts or military campaigns and are full of movement and narrative interest. By contrast, Persian stone reliefs typically show static figures in procession proclaiming the power of the king, and even where a lion is shown attacking a bull, the animals are as stylised as heraldic beasts, frozen in time. Then, too, Persian reliefs are more deeply carved and markedly more refined than Assyrian carvings, perhaps suggesting their knowledge of Greek and Egyptian sculpture.

The shows ends more or less in 334-330 BC with Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire. It is only really in the last gallery that you understand the title of the show. The Persian Empire is "forgotten" because Alexander burned and looted Persepolis, and in the centuries that followed most royal tombs were robbed.


	Achaemenid Gold head from the Oxus treasure (5th-4th century BC) from Tadjikistan

Because there are no Persian historians, we do not really have much sense of what the Persians were like. We simply lack the wealth of information - about Persian religion, government, kingship or daily life - that has come down to us from the Egyptians and the Greeks.

Because I so admire what the British Museum does, I wish I could end my review right here. But I must also comment on the installation of this show, which is so bad that at times the exhibition becomes incoherent. Even granting the notorious lack of a decent space for temporary exhibitions at the British Museum, these astonishing works of art have been crammed into badly lit galleries so mean that even the base of a carved stone column weighing many tons looks like nothing very special.

It is scandalous that space desperately needed for the adequate display of works of art has been wasted by the placement of a museum shop at the end of these galleries. The lighting is so appalling that I couldn't see many of the objects in the display cases. The labelling is inadequate, and don't tell me to use an acoustic guide, because I hate them. The placement of an audio-visual display next to works of art is distracting.

Fortunately, the information you don't get from wall texts and labels can be found in the excellent catalogue, and the works of art that are so badly lit that you can't see them are beautifully reproduced in the catalogue illustrations.

The word "treasure" is over-used to describe pieces in exhibitions. But, for once, it is the appropriate word for what has been sent from the National Museum of Iran and from the Louvre to augment the British Museum's incredible holdings of material from ancient Persia.

Despite my criticisms, the show is a triumph on many levels - not least of diplomacy, for after the recent elections in Iran long-promised loans had to be completely re-negotiated. It may be that the touch-and-go situation with the Iranian loans had something to do with the poor exhibition design.

Source: Telegraph

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