48 exquisite carpets disappear from the "Hafeziyeh Sa'dabad" building
48 exquisite carpets have disappeared from the "Hafeziyeh Sa'dabad" building (the Hafeziyeh building of the Presidential Institution) in Sa'dabad.
The images of the exquisite carpets mentioned were published in the book "Treasure of Thread and Weft, a collection of images of the world's second largest carpet collection" in 2012. According to Fars News Agency, a report titled "Illegal removal of property such as 48 exquisite and expensive hand-woven carpets from the Hafeziyeh Sa'dabad building" was referred to. It should be noted that the 48 exquisite carpets mentioned disappeared during the Rouhani administration between 2013 and 2016, and a special team has been formed in cooperation with supervisory organizations to investigate the disappearance of these exquisite carpets during the previous administration and is currently investigating the matter.
During the experts’ examination of the 10 carpets removed, based on their historical age, design type, artistic school, and physical characteristics, their relative value was estimated at 127 billion Tomans. It should be noted that the 10 carpets that were valued were among the most exquisite carpets in the presidential institution of this building, belonging to the Mashhad (Amvoghli), Isfahan, and Todeshk styles, one of which dates back to the Qajar period. The theft of these carpets began a year after the publication of their images in the book “Treasure of Tar and Pour” and reached 48 pieces by 2016.
In the past, many historical monuments that were also part of Iran's cultural and tourism heritage were auctioned by the government, properties that were looted from Iran by the government and its agents. A senior tourism planning expert had announced in recent months that many historical monuments were being destroyed and there was not enough credit for their restoration. Also, Ehsan Dehghani, Deputy Director of Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Development Fund, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran, announced the auction of 19 historical monuments by the ministry in May of this year under the title "Movement to Transfer the Right to Exploit Historical Monuments."
