This Saturday’s Scherman Lecture, by Dr. Alexander Nagel will
reveal new information about ancient Iran’s brightly colored
past and Professor David Stronach will sign “Ancient Iran from
the Air,” at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Much of what we
know of ancient Persia’s history has been informed by studies of
the magnificent site of Persepolis, the capital of the
Achaemenid Persian Empire from the 6th to the 4th centuries BC.
UNESCO world cultural heritage sites since 1979, these well-
preserved ruins in Southwestern Iran constitute the most
important examples of Achaemenid dynastic architecture in Iran.
Although it has long been known that these monuments and reliefs
were painted, new research in the fascinating field of
polychromy, or color, will be presented at this Saturday’s
Scherman lecture at the Legion of Honor by Dr. Alexander Nagel
Assistant Curator, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Freer│Sackler
Galleries. Nagel will deliver “An Empire in Blue—Color in
Persepolis: New Research on the Polychromy of Achaeme