Kurd Press, the movie star, used gold artifacts that date back about 3000 years to promote Christopher Nolan's epic film

"The Odyssey" is a story about a Greek king's long journey home. But the use of a pair of earrings on the press tour of the new film adaptation of this work, and the long distance of these objects from their homeland, has caused controversy.

At a photo shoot in London, Zendia, who plays the goddess Athena in Christopher Nolan's film, wore a pair of earrings that were made from ancient Iranian artifacts dating back to 700 BC.Reactions to the move were swift, with archaeologists criticizing the use of valuable, culturally significant objects as “accessories” to promote a Hollywood film, calling it a “plunder” of Iran’s civilisational achievements for humanity.

The earrings belong to Barron London, a Mayfair-based gallery and art dealer whose website states: “The gallery, renowned for its secrecy, works privately with collectors, owners and institutions to discover and present valuable works.”

According to an official statement from Barron, the pieces, which were purchased in 2025 from another London jeweller, Glenn Spiro, “are attributed to the Ziviyeh treasure trove, discovered in northwestern Iran in the late 1940s.”

This treasure was a collection of gold, silver, bronze, and pottery that was found and looted by shepherds in 1947.According to a 2015 research paper, its remaining pieces “were sold in antique markets outside Iran in the 1960s” and “are now scattered in various museums and private collections around the world.”