Tehran – The “Friendly Land” exhibition, which displays artefacts from Iranian museums, attracted over 300,000 visitors in China and earned over 100 million views on social media platforms.
The exhibition, hosted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran, in collaboration with the China Centre for International Cultural Exchange, is currently underway at Guangdong Museum in Guangzhou. It was previously held in Chengdu and attracted a lot of attention in both cities.
The exhibition features 151 artifacts from museums in Tehran, including the Reza Abbasi Museum, the Mogadam Museum, the Glass and Ceramic Museum (Abuzine), the Iranian Carpet Museum and the National Museum of Arts. The collection includes metalwork, ceramics, silk textiles, carpets, seals and other artistic items that reflect the grandeur of Islamic Iranian civilization in Iran.
“This is the first time that Tehran province’s museums have independently held exhibitions overseas,” said a representative of Tehran’s Chinese exhibition and arts organization. “Our aim is to present a truly balanced image of Iran and counter the stereotypes and misconceptions about Iran and Islam that exist in parts of the world.”
The exhibition also includes selected works from Chinese museums, highlighting the millennium history of cultural interactions between Iran and China.
From the 3rd millennium BC to the later Islamic period, items displayed include intricately crafted metalwork, ceramics, glassware, textiles and Persian carpets. These objects not only show the artistic evolution of Iran, but also tell us about important stages of cultural history, from the time of Mithra’s ritual to the emergence of Islam.
An important feature of the exhibition is its immersive design inspired by iconic elements of Iranian art and architecture. Visitors enter an area reminiscent of the Qur’an tilework at Golestan Palace in Tehran, but the main exhibition features stained glass and geometric patterns that inspire Shiraz’s Nasir al-Mark Mosque. This carefully curated atmosphere invites visitors to the spiritual and artistic hearts of Iranian heritage.
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