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The Odyssey is a story about a Greek king’s long journey home. But a pair of earrings worn on the new film adaptation’s press tour – and their long separation from their homeland – is sparking controversy.
At a photocall in London, Zendaya, who plays the goddess Athena in the Christopher Nolan film, wore a pair of earrings fashioned from Iranian artefacts dating back to ۷۰۰BC.
The backlash was swift, with archaeologists criticising the use of precious and culturally significant artefacts as accessories in the promotion of a Hollywood film, claiming it was a “hijacking” of Iran’s contributions to humanity.
The earrings belong to Barron London, a Mayfair-based gallery and dealer whose website states: “With a reputation for discretion, the gallery works privately with collectors, estates and institutions to uncover and place pieces of significance.”
According to a formal statement from Barron the artefacts, which were bought from another London jeweller, Glenn Spiro, in ۲۰۲۵, “are attributed to the Ziwiye hoard, discovered in north-western Iran in the late ۱۹۴۰s”.
The hoard was a trove of gold, silver, bronze and terracotta found in ۱۹۴۷ and looted by shepherds. According to a ۲۰۱۵ research paper, the surviving pieces were “sold in antique markets out of Iran in the ۱۹۶۰s” and “are now scattered in different museums and private collections”.
Prof Sussan Babaie, an Iranian-born art historian and Courtauld Institute professor, said it was “shocking to see that no one thought maybe this is not a good idea”.
Expressing “outrage” that Zendaya was wearing the ancient objects, she said: “There is not enough cultural knowledge and cultural sensibility among those who dress [celebrities], those who accessorise them, those who put them up as the symbols of beauty and power and an expression of the movie’s high-mindedness.” Representatives for Zendaya and her stylist have been contacted for comment.
The row comes amid scrutiny of western institutions that hold ancient artefacts. The British Museum has faced criticism over its looted Benin bronzes, sacred Ethiopian altar tablets and the Parthenon marbles.
Kim Kardashian wore a dress that belonged to Marilyn Monroe at the Met Gala in ۲۰۲۲. As Scott Fortner, who has a collection of Monroe artefacts, told the BBC at the time: “When you buy something of such significance, you really need to stick to your word to protect and preserve it … and clearly that didn’t happen.” The gown’s owners denied that any damage had been done to the dress.
Dr Annelise Baer, an archaeologist and producer whose video about Zendaya’s earrings garnered criticism for what some perceived as condoning the use of the artefacts, said the main ethical issue was “that the earrings themselves are made out of looted antiquities”.
She added: “Zendaya wearing them is kind of a secondary fact … but because she has worn them on a red carpet for a major international movie premiere, this has suddenly put all of that into the public eye in a way that we haven’t really seen before.”
According to Barron’s statement, the earrings “are responsibly stewarded in accordance with their documented provenance and all applicable legal requirements”.
Babaie said the jewellery probably had “extremely important spiritual connotations”, adding: “These are objects that are not meant to be displayed as accessories… It’s human heritage. It’s world heritage, not just accessories.”
The effect, she said, was to strip the earrings “of all meaning”. It is, she claims, “hijacking, flattening and transforming [ancient Iran’s] cultural contributions to humanity”.
The timing is also causing further anger. Babaie highlighted a “maddening” situation in which the press tour for The Odyssey is “glamourising the antiquities of Iran … just as billions of American dollars are being used to bomb Iran”, destroying sites of cultural and historical interest.
In its statement, Barron added: “The intention behind the loan was never commercial. It was to celebrate the remarkable artistry of ancient Persian goldsmiths and to encourage wider appreciation of one of the world’s great artistic traditions. At a time when Iran is so often represented through the lens of contemporary politics, we hope these earrings can also remind audiences of the country’s profound cultural, artistic and historical legacy.”
The Odyssey has also been criticised over one of its filming locations. Sahrawi film-makers are calling for a boycott of the movie over the use of the city of Dakhla in occupied Western Sahara – a stretch of land under Moroccan control sometimes referred to as “Africa’s last colony”.
