Medium: Bronze

Dimensions: 16.5 " × 37" ×16.5"

Artist’s Statement: Charter of Cyrus

The Cyrus Cylinder is the most famous surviving Cuneiform Cylinder of the ancient Persian civilization about universal human rights.

My representation of the ‘Cyrus Cylinder’ is an abstract interpretation. It celebrates, the idea of freedom, tolerance, and liberty reborn in today’s modern world. Formed in metal as a blasted barrel-shaped cylinder with forms inspired by wind-instruments; it represents the laws of the charter. It is a symbolic cuneiform. An instrument playing the ideological song of freedom, for all to hear, feel, and think about.

The Cyrus Cylinder is regarded as a symbol of tolerance and freedom. " I announce that I will respect the tradition, customs, and religions of the nations of my empire.....Today, I announce that everyone is free to choose a religion." translation obtained from Gresham College, England "Inscribed with cuneiform script, the Cylinder records the conquest of Babylon in 539 B.C. by the Persian king Cyrus the Great (ruled 559–530 B.C.). Even before its discovery, Cyrus had been renowned as a benevolent and noble ruler. The Greek historian Xenophon (about 430–354 B.C.) presented him as an ideal leader in his Cyropaedia, while Old Testament texts praise Cyrus for bringing an end to the Jewish exile in Babylon. The Cylinder provides a valuable complement to this legacy, for it records — in Cyrus's own words — how, on taking control of Babylon, he restored religious traditions, and permitted those who had been deported to return to their settlements in and around Babylonia. " Excerpt from J. Paul Getty Museum Exhibit of Cyrus Cylinder 2103