.jpg "Veins of acidic deposits are seen on the statue of Nader Shah in Mashhad in an undated photo.")
TEHRAN -- Veins of acidic deposits that have gradually developed on the statue of Nader Shah and his soldiers are threatening the valuable artwork created by Abolhassan Sediqi (1894–1995), one of the few pioneers of modern Iranian sculpture.
The white veins have been created by a mixture of bird droppings, rainfall and other pollutants over the past few decades, the Persian service of CHN reported on Saturday.
The pollutants have event caused some cracks on the hats of Nader and the soldiers. The Mashhad Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department plans to conduct some restorations of the monument.
The statue was set up in 1963 on the tomb of Nader Shah (1688-1747), Iranian ruler and conqueror who created an Iranian empire that stretched from the Indus River to the Caucasus Mountains.
Some exhibition spaces were built around the statue later and the Nader Shah Museum Garden established. It is Mashhad’s second most important tourist attraction after the shrine of Imam Reza (AS).
MMS/YAW
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