Let’s catch repatriated Iran bricks

Iranian glazed bricks dating from around 800 BC are steeped in history and art.

The old bricks with the ornate motifs were returned from a warehouse in Switzerland after being smuggled out of Iran decades earlier.

They feature a variety of exotic designs, including geometric patterns, flying lions, and bulls with human heads.

A special tale surrounds the return of 51 glazed bricks from the Qalaichi site in Boukan city. The antiquities were kept in storage in the Chiasso bonded warehouse after being removed from the country by smugglers in the 1980s.

The British Museum's curator, Dr. John Curtis, viewed these items with the intention of acquiring them for the institution.

He was an expert on Iran's Iron Age and knew that these artifacts came from the Qalaichi and belonged to the Mannaean civilization. The repatriation embarked after this incident.

In April, the Repatriated Boukan Glazed Brick Collection from Switzerland was on display at Iran's National Museum in Tehran.

AG/AG