The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia
Charting a New Empire
June 20–August 4, 2013 at the MET in New York
The Cyrus Cylinder from Ancient Babylon and the Beginning of the Persian Empire
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| The Cyrus Cylinder. Baked clay. Achaemenid, 539–538 B.C. Excavated in Babylon, Iraq, in 1879. British Museum 90920. © Trustees of the British Museum |
The exhibition is made possible by the NoRuz at the Met Fund.
This exhibition was organized by the British Museum in partnership with the Iran Heritage Foundation and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia
Charting a New Empire
June 20–August 4, 2013 at the MET in New York
The Cyrus Cylinder is one of the most famous surviving icons from the ancient world. Excavated at Babylon in 1879, the Cylinder was inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform on the orders of the Persian king Cyrus the Great after he captured Babylon in 539 B.C. It marks the establishment of Persian rule and records how Cyrus restored shrines and allowed deported peoples to return home. Although not mentioned, it is thought to be at this time that the Jews returned to Jerusalem to build the Second Temple, as recorded in the Bible. The Cylinder and sixteen related works, all on loan from the Department of the Middle East in the British Museum, reflect the innovations initiated by Persian rule in the ancient Near East (550–331 B.C.) and chart a new path for this empire, the largest the world had known.
A unique aspect of the exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum will be its display within the galleries of Ancient Near Eastern Art, where objects from the permanent collection—including the famous lions from Babylon—will provide a stunning backdrop. Also on display will be works of art from the Metropolitan’s Department of Drawings and Prints and Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts that celebrate Cyrus and his legacy as a liberal and enlightened ruler.
Events
Thursday, June 20, 5:30–6:30 p.m.
Dr. John E. Curtis, OBE, FBA, Keeper of Special Middle East Projects, The British Museum
The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium Show location on map
This program is presented with the exhibition The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: Charting a New Empire.
Please use the ground-level entrance at Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street for this event.
Free Lecture; Museum admission not required
Gallery Talk
Exhibition Tour—The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: Charting a New Empire
Tuesday, June 25, 10:30–11:30 a.m.
Michael Seymour, Research Associate, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, MMA
Gallery 404 Show location on map
In this exhibition, encounter seventeen iconic works of art from The British Museum’s Department of the Middle East, including the Cyrus Cylinder—a clay cylinder that describes the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus in 539 b.c., and which had political resonances throughout the Ancient Near East.
Free with Museum admission
Film
Pasargadae (2012)
Friday, June 28, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Bonnie J. Sacerdote Lecture Hall, Uris Center for Education Show location on map
Farzin Rezaeian, director. Explore Cyrus the Great’s palace of Pasargadae—the first capital of the Persian Empire—through superb reconstructions of its architecture and magnificent gardens (50 min.). Introduced by David Stronach, Professor of Near Eastern Studies Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley. Presented with the exhibition The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia: Charting a New Empire.
Free with Museum admission
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