Iran (IMNA) - According to the diplomat, the legal ownership of this valuable old work has now been passed [from the UK National Crime Agency] to the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Hosseini Matin claimed that the smuggled statue of a Sassanid soldier was handed over to the embassy after verifying its Iranian origins and being on loan at the British Museum for three months.
He hailed expanded collaboration between the embassy and the British Museum in the field of cultural heritage protection in a statement made last month. "We sincerely hope that future collaboration between the British Museum and the Iranian Embassy in London will be effective in combating illicit trafficking in cultural properties and protecting humanity's cultural heritage."
Furthermore, Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami stated last month that his ministry had worked hard to rescue the bas-relief sculpture of a Sassanid soldier that had been stolen at Stansted airport. "Like in previous cases, this ministry has made every effort to return this treasured artifact to the country," the minister added.
Experts think the over-one-meter-tall antiquity was chopped from living granite or sculpted on-site. It is estimated to be worth £30 million and portrays an imposing man figure carved in the third century CE.
When security agents captured the exquisitely carved artifact, it was on its way to the illegal market in Britain. Border Force personnel were suspicious because of the untidy wrapping, which may have been intended to indicate that the item was worthless. The over-one-meter-tall antique was chopped from living rock or sculpted on-site.
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