Foreign museums pay $100k-200k for displaying Iranian antiques

TEHRAN.(Iranart) - Iranian director for museum affairs says countries pay Iran 100,000-200,000 dollars for displaying Iranian historical items and antiques at their museums.

Mohammadreza Kargar, director for museum affairs at the Cultural Heritage, Handcraft and Tourism Organization, told Mehr News correspondent on Wednesday that the payment is partly from the revenues obtained from selling tickets.

He added that all display costs are paid by the foreign side, including the insurance for the historical items, their legal and governmental immunity, as well as the transfer and packaging costs. He noted the Louvre as an example that financially assisted Iran for opening a large-scale exhibition of historical items from the French museum in Tehran.

“We sign comprehensive agreements in this field,” he stressed.

The National Museum of Iran is currently hosting a collection of artworks on loan from the Louvre in Paris for a four-month period. The exhibition, comprising a collection of 56 ancient artworks, will wrap up on June 21.

Meanwhile, the Drents Museum in the Netherlands is planning to display a collection of nearly 200 Iranian antique items from June 17 to November 18 in city of Assen.

According to Kargar, the whole expense has been covered by the Dutch government.

The exhibition aims to introduce the Iranian civilization to Europe, he added.