Gold earrings worn by actor Zendaya at a London photocall have prompted calls for greater transparency over the ownership and history of ancient artefacts attributed to Iran’s Ziwiye hoard.
Zendaya, who plays Athena in The Odyssey, wore earrings consisting of gold medallion plaques mounted with diamonds in yellow gold. Barron London, the Mayfair gallery and dealer that owns them, says the plaques are “attributed to the Ziwiye hoard,” which was discovered in north-west Iran in the late 1940s. The company bought them from London jeweller Glenn Spiro.
The attribution does not establish that the objects came from the hoard, and the available reporting does not confirm their authenticity or legal history. A petition launched by Romina Frohar, founder of the Forensic Archive of Iran, asks Barron London to publish the plaques’ complete known provenance, disclose checks into their legality, allow the objects to be examined and suspend their sale.
Frohar said that describing the loan as a celebration of ancient Persian artistry was not a substitute for making evidence about the objects’ origin, export, ownership history and acquisition available for scrutiny. She also argued that ethical questions could remain even if the earrings were authentic and lawfully possessed, including whether private custody provides sufficient transparency, conservation and public or scholarly access.
Christos Tsirogiannis, an antiquities expert at the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, expressed surprise that no one involved in accompanying the actor had raised concerns about the jewellery. He also said the plaques might possibly have come from a burial, raising the question of whether they could have been looted earrings once belonging to an ancient woman.
The dispute reflects wider concerns over the market for ancient objects. Tsirogiannis said his work had uncovered evidence casting doubt on the provenance of numerous antiquities offered for sale, while estimating that about 90% of market antiquities are eventually shown to be illicit or lacking documentation. The article also notes that ancient objects including Egyptian, Hellenistic and Iranian items are currently offered by dealers, alongside high-value sales at auction.
Simon Mackenzie, a criminology professor at Victoria University of Wellington, said many countries, including Iran, have state-ownership laws covering ancient objects discovered within their territory. However, he noted that such laws developed over time and were not necessarily retroactive, leaving room for legal disputes about when state ownership began.
The earrings’ ownership and provenance may remain unresolved, but their public appearance has renewed debate about how ancient cultural material is presented, traded and worn in the present day.
