Hollywood's Ancient Accessory Problem: Cultural Heritage on the Red Carpet
The glitz of a Hollywood premiere often masks complex layers, but few expected a press tour for a Christopher Nolan film to unearth a nearly 3,000-year-old controversy. At a recent photocall in London for "Odyssey," film star Zendaya, cast as the goddess Athena, ignited a swift backlash by wearing earrings fashioned from ancient Iranian artefacts dating back to 700BC.
This wasn't merely a fashion misstep; it was an ethical minefield. Archaeologists immediately condemned the use of these culturally significant pieces as accessories for promotional purposes, labeling it a "hijacking" of Iran's contributions to humanity. Prof Sussan Babaie, an Iranian-born art historian and Courtauld Institute professor, expressed "outrage," noting the "shocking" lack of cultural knowledge among celebrity stylists and image makers who position such objects as symbols of "beauty and power."
The provenance of the controversial jewellery points to Barron London, a Mayfair-based gallery, which acquired the artefacts from another London jeweller, Glenn Spiro, in 2025. According to Barron's formal statement, these pieces are attributed to the Ziwiye hoard, a trove of gold, silver, bronze, and terracotta discovered in north-western Iran in 1947. This hoard, famously looted by shepherds, saw its surviving pieces "sold in antique markets out of Iran in the 1960s" and subsequently "scattered in different museums and private collections," as detailed in a 2015 research paper.
Dr Annelise Baer, an archaeologist, succinctly framed the primary ethical concern: "that the earrings themselves are made out of looted antiquities." Zendaya's role, while secondary to the looting itself, brought the issue into sharp public focus on a global platform. This incident underscores a persistent and uncomfortable truth within the high-stakes world of luxury goods and celebrity endorsement: the aesthetic appeal often overshadows the historical and ethical baggage.
This specific controversy arrives amid heightened scrutiny of Western institutions regarding their holdings of ancient artefacts. The British Museum, for instance, has faced considerable criticism over its collection of looted Benin bronzes, sacred Ethiopian altar tablets, and the Parthenon marbles. The parallel drawn with Kim Kardashian wearing Marilyn Monroe's dress at the 2022 Met Gala, though concerning preservation rather than outright looting, highlights the broader debate surrounding the ethical responsibility in handling items of immense cultural or historical value. Scott Fortner, a collector of Monroe artefacts, articulated this sentiment, stating that owners of significant items have a clear duty "to protect and preserve it."
Beyond individual celebrity choices, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the illicit trade in antiquities. The discreet operations of galleries, like Barron London, which boasts a "reputation for discretion" in working "privately with collectors," become implicitly linked to the longer, darker narrative of cultural displacement. When objects from a specific cultural context, such as the Ziwiye hoard, are stripped of their origin through looting and then accessorised for a global film promotion, it signals a profound disconnect between commercial interests and the sanctity of cultural heritage.
Ultimately, this episode from the "Odyssey" press tour is less about Zendaya and more about the ongoing, often silent, battle over cultural ownership and ethical sourcing in a globalised world. It forces a critical examination of how ancient history is consumed, valued, and displayed, particularly when it resurfaces, controversially, on a red carpet.