VIDEO: The Cyrus Cylinder and Ancient Persia, the long-awaited exhibition organized by the British Museum and the Iran Heritage Foundation to bring the Cyrus Cylinder to the U.S. for the first time, is now in its final stop. After Being viewed by more than a quarter of a million people, the exhibition is now on display at the beautiful Getty Villa (part of the J. Paul Getty Museum) in Los Angeles. This is the last opportunity for the American public to see the Cyrus Cylinder up close before it leaves for Mumbai, India. Please follow the links for information about the exhibition at the Getty Villa and, related events, and visiting information.

To learn more about the significance of this iconic object, especially its role in inspiring the Founding Fathers of the U.S., please see the following:

• CNN’s Christian Amanpour interviews Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum (20-min video and transcript)
• Roger Cohen: Finding the Missing Word
• The Cyrus Cylinder U.S. Tour: Culture Transcending Politics – Published by the USC Center for Public Diplomacy, on why touring this 2600-year object is so important today.
• Cyrus and Jefferson: Did they speak the same language?
• Lecture by Dr. John Curtis, Keeper of the Special Middle East Projects and the curator of the exhibition, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (video, one hour)
• Cyrus Cylinder US Tour: Seven Years in the making – How the tour came about and was organized.
• Press conference keynotes during the launch of the tour — Very informative videos about the history of Cyrus and his cylinder, and the significance of the Cyrus Cylinder today, including Q&A

You can find more articles, complete archive of the videos, and the most recent coverage on the official website of the tour (cyruscylinder2013.com) and on the tour’s facebook page.

The Los Angeles display of the exhibition is hosted by the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa. Tickets are free and can be reserved online — please see the Getty Villa website for details, hours, and directions. The local sponsor of the Los Angeles display of the exhibition is Farhang Foundation which has generously supported the Getty Museum and the IHF and has arranged community programs around the L.A. exhibition.

The Cyrus Cylinder touring exhibition of the U.S. is organized by the British Museum in partnership with the Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF America) and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.