Iranian museum 'hides masterpieces'
Published on: 30-Oct-2007
Hundreds of masterpieces including works by Picasso, Van Gogh and Renoir are being kept under lock and key in the basement of an Iranian museum, according to reports.The collection, which also includes Andy Warhol pop art and Jackson Pollock's most valuable painting, Mural on a Red Indian Ground, is being kept underground at Iran's museum of contemporary art in Tehran, the Guardian newspaper said.
There are fears that it may be another sign of Iran's continuing cultural policies, which include the banning and censoring of western literature and pop music in the name of Islamic law.
Only last week, four book stores, situated within coffee shops, were ordered to close down.
The museum's director, Habibollah Sadeghi, said that the only reason for not displaying the works was simply a lack of space.
"We are opposed to an aggressive, dominant culture," he told the Guardian. "Westerners, especially Americans, think they are the rulers of the whole world and that other people are their servants."
The works were bought during the 1970's on the authority of the last shah's wife, Queen Farah, when coffers were bulging as a result of the oil boom.
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