SerpApi.Org
Hollywood stars are used to criticism. Few of them, though, would expect to be ticked off by the archaeological community.
But the actress Zendaya has incurred the wrath of antiquities specialists with a pair of ancient Iranian artefacts she styled as earrings.
Zendaya, who plays the goddess Athena in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, wore the jewels – thought to be up to 3,000 years old – at a photocall earlier this month for the film at IET London: Savoy Place.
The large gold discs, made in Iran in the first millennium BC, “are attributed to the Ziwiye hoard, discovered in north-western Iran in the late 1940s”, according to Barron London, the Mayfair-based dealer that lent Zendaya’s earrings.
Archaeologists criticised the use of artefacts as accessories in the promotion of a Hollywood film, describing it as a “hijacking” of Iran’s contribution to the arts, according to The Guardian.
Sussan Babaie, an Iranian-born art history professor at the Courtauld Institute of Art, told The Guardian that it was “shocking to see that no one thought maybe this is not a good idea”, expressing “outrage” that Zendaya was wearing the earrings.
“There is not enough cultural knowledge and cultural sensibility among those who dress [celebrities], those who accessorise them, those who put them up as the symbols of beauty and power and an expression of the movie’s high-mindedness,” she said.
The jewellery probably had “extremely important spiritual connotations”, she told the newspaper, adding: “These are objects that are not meant to be displayed as accessories… It’s human heritage. It’s world heritage, not just accessories.”
Online, archaeologists have agreed. “It’s absolutely vile, despicable, morally bankrupt, ethically problematic and people are trying to justify it by back projecting an intent onto past people,” Howard Williams, an archaeologist at the University of Chester, said on TikTok.
“These artefacts are likely looted from Iran and they are gracing the ears of an American actress from a country that just bombed Iran,” another social media user, known as Dr Z the Archaeologist, said.
Others suggested that linking the artefact to the wrong time period was problematic. “Linking them exclusively to ancient Greece is a historical leap that is not supported by their stated origin,” Dr Mohammad Firoz Khan, a historian who specialises in archaeology, wrote on X.
Barron London told CNN, however: “Cultural heritage rightly inspires important conversations, and we welcome informed dialogue about provenance, preservation and the appreciation of exceptional craftsmanship.
“At a time when Iran is frequently viewed through the lens of contemporary events, we hope these earrings can serve as a reminder of the country’s enduring artistic, cultural and historical legacy.”
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Annelise Baer, an archaeologist and producer, also defended the choice, saying in a video on Instagram that she viewed wearing them as a positive gesture. “I’m obsessed. These are amazing, and these are all part of a larger, ancient jewellery trend that is going on right now,” she said.
The collection of jewellery to which the earrings belonged included gold, silver, bronze and terracotta, and was found in 1947.
It was looted by shepherds before the surviving pieces were sold in antiquities markets around Iran. They are now scattered across various museums and private collections.
The earrings Zendaya wore were mounted with diamonds and set in gold by Glenn Spiro, a London jeweller, and are believed to have been part of his Materials of the Old World collection.
“You can wear something around your neck that dates back thousands of years but is still contemporary and cool,” Mr Spiro told Galerie magazine in 2025.
