National Museum Tehran

Iran plays an important role in the development of Middle Eastern civilization and it holds many objects that be known as the ancient civilization. National museum of Iran highlights the ancient items, representing the various traditions, cultures, and etc and exploring the invention of tools in different eras and artistic and architectural developments which affected life in ancient Iran.


a famous museum


History

The ancient Iran museum, founded in 1937, encompasses items from Paleolithic to the end of Sassanid era. It is the combination of two museums, the first one is Muze-ye Iran-e Bastan ("Archaeological Museum of Iran", where ancient Iranian antiquities before Islamic era are exhibited), and the second one is the National Arts Museum (" Muze-ye Dowran-e Eslami"), which was inaugurated in 1972 and it displays Islamic objects and monuments. Impressive masterpieces collected from major archaeological sites of the country including Kashafrud, Darband, Ganj Par, Shush and Persepolis are exhibited in this museum.

Andre Godard and Maxime Siroux, the French architects who designed National Museum in Tehran, were inspired by Kasra Palace in Ctesiphon from Sassanid dynasty. Eventually, the museum was built with ancient Iranian architecture featuring entrances, Iwans and arches found in Sassanied dynasty.


Architecture of National Museum of Tehran

This 11000-square-meter building was designed by the well-known French architect, Andre Godard. The exterior design of this museum inspired the design of Taq Kasra in the city of Ctesiphon during Sassanian times and brickwork which reflect the magnificence of culture, art, and architecture. Objects on display are curated geographically and chronologically from the prehistoric times to the Islamic era.


Sections of Museum

The museum is divided into two parts of ancient Iran and the Islamic era. In the ancient part of Iran, historical objects from the Paleolithic period (one million years ago to twelve thousand years ago) to the Sassanid era (1500 years ago) exhibit. This section exhibits objects from the Achaemenian, Seleucid and Sasanian periods, and a unique relic of the Parthian period is the partial bust of a man, discovered accidentally in 1993, together with several pieces of bone, a boot—with its owner’s leg inside it—a whetstone, a few clay pots, an iron knife, a silver pin, woolen trousers, a few pieces of cloth and a walnut. Ever since it was discovered, this bust has been known as the “Salt Man.”

In the Islamic section, the works of the after-Islamic period also expose. There are three floors at the building from which the ground floor is allocated to the conferences and temporary exhibitions. In the other two floors, all the objects displayed with a thematic and chronological order.

 

Opening hours

This museum is open for visitors on every day from 9.00 a.m.to 7.00p.m. (till 6.00 in winter time).