A monumental bronze sphere created by the late Italian sculptor Arnoldo Pomodoro was presented at the Museum of Time in Tehran after months of conservation and restoration work. This event marks the centenary of the artist's birth.
The opening ceremony gathered several officials, including Hamidreza Soleimani, CEO of the Mostazafan Museum Foundation; Ahmad Mohit-Tabatabaei, head of the Iranian Museums Association; Emmanuel Marc, cultural attaché of the Italian Embassy in Tehran; Amira Kassemi, head of tourism at the Tehran Municipality, as well as representatives from the Iranian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts.
The bronze sculpture, known as Sfera di Pomodoro, weighs 3000 kilograms. It was created in 1974 and arrived in Iran in 1978. Previously, it was located in Eram Park in Tehran before being moved to the courtyard of the Museum of Time in northern Tehran.
Soleimani stated that the study, treatment, restoration, and reconstruction of the sculpture took about two years, with the sphere's restoration alone requiring approximately 18 months. He added that preliminary studies, considering the unique characteristics and metallic structure of the sculpture, took six to seven months.
According to Soleimani, the restoration team contacted the Pomodoro Foundation in Italy and received its conservation and treatment protocols. The Foundation was involved throughout the project, receiving progress reports, monitoring the object's condition, and providing online supervision of the restoration process at certain stages.
Soleimani specified that the restoration work was carried out by an experienced group of cultural heritage specialists led by Manije Hajjan Dehkordi. Mitra Etezadi and her colleagues later joined the project, and the final conservation methodology was developed through consultations among the involved specialists.
Hamidreza Soleimani emphasized that the project was the result of the work of an interdisciplinary team, not the decision or labor of one person. Emmanuel Marc, for his part, welcomed the completion of the restoration in honor of Pomodoro's centenary and thanked Iranian conservators for their efforts in preserving the works of the Italian artist.
According to Iranian heritage experts, the sculpture sustained various types of environmental and surface damage during its time in Eram Park. Pomodoro, born in 1926, is internationally known for his polished bronze sculptures, characterized by fissures and openings that reveal complex internal structures. His 'Sphere within Sphere' series explores the contrast between outwardly perfect forms and their intricate interiors. Large-scale works from this series are exhibited in prominent locations such as the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.