Iranian artist Parviz Tanavoli barred from leaving country ahead of London visit

'I still don’t know why I am here and when I will be able to leave'

Tanavoli has a broad global reach and holds dual Iranian-Canadian nationality (AFP/Getty Images)

Renowned Iranian sculptor Parviz Tanavoli has been barred from leaving the country the day before he was due to speak at the British Museum.

Iranian authorities confiscated the artist’s passport early on Saturday morning while he tried to board a flight out of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Tanavoli, a leading Iranian artist who is known for his signature bronze sculptures, said he did not know why he had been prohibited from leaving and did not know when he would next be able to leave the country.

“My explanation to the authorities about my two lectures at the British Museum and the Asia House did not help and I missed my flight,” he said in a status posted to his Facebook account.

“However my daughter's calls to some of the art and culture authorities at the Ministry and at the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art brought them into the scene,” he added. “I am deeply grateful to them. Although I still don’t know why I am here and when I will be able to leave.”

Tanavoli was one of the pioneers of the Saqqakhaneh school, a neo-traditionalist movement which began in the 1960s and takes Persian and Shiite folk themes as its inspiration. His bronze work 'The Wall' ('Oh, Persepolis') fetched $2.84 million at a 2008 Dubai auction and at the time it set the record for the most expensive Iranian artwork.

Tanavoli has a broad global reach and holds dual Iranian-Canadian nationality, spending half the year in Iran and the other half in Canada.

He has run into difficulties with the Iranian authorities in the past. They confiscated pieces of his artwork more than a decade ago during a dispute over his house in Tehran. He is apparently still fighting to get the pieces back.