Athena Asks - Professor Sussan Babaie

Athena Art Foundation

Nicola Jennings talks to Sussan Babaie and Ina Sarikhani about the Epic Iran exhibition at London's V&A and the extremely sophisticated culture that flourished in Central Asia from about 3,000 BCE. Looking at some of the exhibition highlights, such as gold beakers, cloisonné jewellery and exquisite paintings in the Shanameh or Book of Kings, they discuss the mix of languages, ethnic groups and religions which coexisted under the Achaemenid Empire (550 BC), the legacy of the slightly later Sasanian culture, and the transition to Islam. They also reflect on how the exhibition makes us confront the biaises of art history towards the large format painting and sculpture which developed in Europe as opposed to objects such as books, carpets and ceramics which dominated high-end material culture in Asia.