PRICELESS TREASURES

Evening Star, Issue 20655, 1 December 1930, Page 14

PRICELESS TREASURES

—-—— PERSIAN ART AND CRAFT INSURED FOR £2,000,000. Treasures of Persian art and craft, which to avoid the possibility of pillage wore transported by aeroplane over the fifst part of the journey from Teheran to the Persian Gulf, were recently conveyed in broad daylight through the Streets of London in motor vans. Dazzling jewels, precious silks, mosaics, and carpets—these treasures of the East are to be. exhibited at the International Exhibition of Persian Art. to be held at Burlington House next January. Their value it is impossible to state, but they have been insured for £2,000,00(1. The exhibits arrived in the British steamer Baharistan, but the crow were unaware that the cargo which they had brought from the Persian Gulf was anything more precious than dates and grain, and a wild pig for the Zoo. Closely guarded, the jewels and fabrics were lying in the hold of the vessel at . a wharf at Hotherhithe. The priceless packing oases wore unloaded under a police guard. Mounted police accompanied the vans, which were driven from the wharf, over Blackfriars Bridge', along tho Embankment, up' Northumberland avenue, along St. James street, into Piccadilly Special police kept guard while tho treasures were taken into the vaults at Burlington House, and police also kept watch while tho exhibits were there. “ Wo hope to give an Oriental atmosphere to Burlington House,” said an official. “We do not wish tho treasures to bo in an uncongenial environment. The question of how best to effect a transformation of those rather frigid galleries has yet to bo considered. The exhibits will be arranged in chronological order, and the carpets will bo hung on tho walls of the larger rooms.” The treasures now in London include, besides rare and costly Persian rugs and carpets, illuminated manuscripts, heavy gold and silver plate and crown jewels, including a sceptre of exquisite workmanship. Other Persian treasures and objects of art were to arrive by ship and aeroplane from museums and private collections all oyer the world. “ It is impossible to put a price on the treasures,” an official said. “ They can never be replaced. They are priceless.”