The USC Center on Public Diplomacy is leading a public conversation on the role of cultural artifacts and museums as springboards of international dialogue.
The Cyrus Cylinder, a 2,600-year-old artifact from the Persian Empire, has provided the platform for the discussion. Permanently housed in London’s British Museum, the Cylinder is widely recognized to be the world’s first written declaration of human rights and religious tolerance. Currently on display at the J. Paul Getty Museum of the Getty Villa through Dec. 2, it is on the final leg of its first-ever American tour.
The bread-sized, clay object is significant for a cuneiform inscription that details King Cyrus the Great’s peaceful creation of an empire in present-day Iran. Upon incorporating new people into his kingdom, Cyrus allowed them to retain their own cultures and faiths; additionally, he freed the Jewish people from exile in Babylon, permitting them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild lost temples.
The Center on Public Diplomacy has been heavily engaged with the Cylinder since its arrival to Los Angeles in early October. Along with tracking international media coverage of its American tour, the Center hosted an Oct. 30 discussion with Getty Museum Director Dr. Timothy Potts concerning the vital role of cultural institutions and artifacts in facilitating global dialogue.
“It helps to think … about the communication power of a museum object in the same way we would talk about the communication power of a person,” said USC Annenberg Communication Professor and event panelist Nicholas Cull. “It’s an example of how much extra mileage you can get when you think outside the box.”
Throughout the duration of its five-city tour, the Cylinder has given Americans a new message with which to associate Iran: one of peace and religious tolerance.
“Iran’s political relationship with the United States and Israel has been contentious for the past three decades,” wrote Iran Heritage Foundation overseer Nasser Manesh. “It is, therefore, of particular interest to have an ancient object from Iran in the limelight, one that is so relevant to both the U.S. and Israel. The Cyrus Cylinder documents an important moment in the history of the Middle East with significant relevance to both of these nations.”
Center associates have penned numerous articles questioning if the public success of the Cylinder exhibit indicates a possible deterioration of the tense political barriers that exist between the American, Israeli and Iranian people.
“While world renowned museums like the Getty, Smithsonian, Louvre, British Museum and others serve as vehicles for our global cultural heritage, can the artifacts they hold lead to the betterment of state-to-state, people-to-people, and state-to-people relationships?” asked CPD Assistant Director Naomi Leight.
“One of the core tenets of public diplomacy is to share values. It is clear from the global public interest in the Cyrus Cylinder, and reverence shown by both Iranians and Israelis for Cyrus, that the Cylinder is the commonality that public diplomacy practitioners seek out and utilize as a jumping-off point for dialogue about international relations.”
Check out the CPD’s complete coverage of the Cyrus Cylinder:
- The Cyrus Cylinder Tour of the U.S.: Culture Transcending Politics
- Around the World With the Cyrus Cylinder: An Interview with John Curtis
