The Head of Iran's Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) and Vice President Massoud Soltanifar was one of the figures present in the ceremony of unveiling two new miniature paintings by world-renowned Iranian artist Mahmoud Farshchian in Tehran on Sunday.
On the sidelines of the event, the official referred to the history of art, handicraft, civilization, and architecture of the nation which is spread over a geography beyond the current borders of Iran and added that 11 millennia of Iranian civilization demonstrated the power of the nation in the world.
The head of ICHTO affirmed that Iranian works of art and architecture in other countries in the neighborhood are today a busy destination of tourists from around the world.
Soltanifar reassured that Iran is one of the three prominent countries of the world in art and handicrafts and the handicrafts made in Iran are the best in the world.
The ceremony to unveil the two new works of Iranian artist Mahmoud Farshchian, Sham-e-Ghariban (The Night of the Dispossessed) and Aseman-e-Chaharom (The Fourth Heaven) was attended by a number of senior Iranian officials, including the Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Deputy Culture Minister Ali Moradkhani.
The event was held at Farshchian Museum of Sa'dabad Cultural and Historical Complex on Sunday.
Farshchian is known as Iran's master of miniatures, whose works have been displayed in numerous galleries and museums around the world such as the British Library, Freer Gallery of Art, Bibliotheque Nationale, Metropolitan Museum and Harvard University.
The 85-year-old artist was chosen as an outstanding 21st century intellectual figure by Cambridge and has received an honorary doctorate in Iranian painting and Islamic arts from the High Council of Culture and Art.
He has won numerous national and international awards, including the gold statuette of Italy’s Vessillo Europa Delle Arte in 1984 and the gold medal of Belgium’s 1958 International Art Festival.
Iran’s Cultural Heritage Foundation established the Museum of Master Mahmoud Farshchian, devoted to the works of the veteran artist, at Tehran’s Sa'dabad Cultural and Historical Complex in 2001.