Zendaya's choice of jewelry for a London photocall is drawing more attention than her role as Athena, the Guardian reports. At the event for Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, the actor wore earrings made from 2,700-year-old Iranian artifacts—pieces linked to the Ziwiye hoard, a cache of gold, silver, and other objects looted in northwestern Iran in the 1940s and since dispersed to museums and private collections worldwide. Archaeologists and art historians who spoke to the Guardian say using such items as red-carpet accessories amounts to exploiting cultural heritage, with one expert calling it a "hijacking" of ancient Iran's legacy. The Telegraph reports that other experts who have weighed in online agree, and one who spoke to Complex tied the trade of such artifacts to organized crime.
The earrings were loaned by Barron London, a Mayfair gallery that says the pieces were legally acquired and are being "responsibly stewarded." Critics counter that the core issue is their looted origin and likely spiritual significance, arguing they were never meant to be worn as fashion. Zendaya and her stylist have not commented. The uproar lands amid broader criticism of Western handling of antiquities and as the Odyssey faces a separate boycott call over filming in Dakhla, in disputed Western Sahara, which is occupied by Morocco and sometimes called "Africa's last colony." Barron maintains the loan was intended to highlight ancient Persian craftsmanship and shift focus from Iran's politics to its cultural achievements. See a photo of the earrings at the Guardian.
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