Christie's '08 auction report sees the mediocre pushed aside to make way for big names

The Middle Eastern contemporary artist discusses the state of the art market, his commercial success, and what it’s like to work in Iran

The director says that the collection will be the first of its kind in the region, catering to an emergent Muslim community

The news comes as unexpected due to suppression of religion freedom in the nation

Reinforced legitimacy adds £500,000 to upper estimate

Emotional responses were elicited by Michael Stevenson and Andy Warhol

The museum's director maintains that the agreement is no major coup

UK courts ruled that Iran presented insufficient evidence to warrant the antiquities' reacquisition

Iranian lawyers argued that any rights to the fifth-century bas-relief should be relinquished to its country of origin

The Italian government is giving financial assistance in the 2,000 year-old site's repair, after it was badly affected by an earthquake

Gallery “unaware” of concerns over objects offered on website

The event will go ahead despite religious sensitivities

With the Danish Arts Council's blessing, Thomas Altheimer and Nielsen will travel to the Middle East this autumn

Exhibition of Jewish artist’s work challenges official stance on Israel

Terrorist attacks in Jerusalem which killed five and injured hundreds were executed with funding from Iran—say plaintiffs in several lawsuits

The shrine's restoration, which will be paid for by private sector investment, has been the subject of a deal brokered between ICHTO and the Iraqi Ministry of Culture

The gallery's owner makes no comment on artefacts' origins, but insists that all purchases were made legally

Iran argues that the artefact was acquired through criminal means, although their failure to speak out when the fragment went to auction previously may undermine their case

“This is the only time in Iran that a cultural manager has been supported by artists like this”, he tells The Art Newspaper

With the view that creative outlet precedes change, Sami-Azar has begun to thaw segregationist policies that bar Iranian artists from international acclaim

Whilst the motivation behind his departure is unexplained, his career, driven by his reformist values, has left its mark on Iranian culture

Experts at the ancient site of Izeh in the Karun River valley have not been afforded the same privileges

Two heads are better than one, as the question of how best to preserve historic ruins is yet to receive a definitive answer

A modernisation project might just save an unearthed historical site in Iran that could one day prove to be invaluable to the study of the region.

Iran has clamped down on illegal trade in antiquities, which has led to archaeological sites being promptly denuded post-discovery

The costs of bringing "Iranian splendour" overseas will be covered by the Japanese royal family

“To see this happen breaks my heart”, says archaeologist Dr Henry Wright

It is the first time that Iranian courts have issued a harsh punishment for the illicit exportation of goods from an archaeological site

As The British Museum prepares to loan the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran, The Art Newspaper remembers the Persian antiquity's first visit to its home nation in 1971