Description: The Museum of Ancient Iran or Iran-e Bastan was designed by French architect Andre Godard in the early 20th century. It has a built area of approximately 11000 square meters. Began in 1935 and completed within two years by Abbas Ali Memar and Morad Tabrizi, the museum building was officially inaugurated in 1937. The second building, Museum of the Islamic Era, built on the grassy grounds of the old one, went through quite a few and hasty changes of the interior and was still being remodeled when the Revolution of 1979 swept the country. While the old building always had a clear mandate to show archaeological relics (to also include some rare medieval textiles and rug pieces), the new building began its life by featuring the exquisite Amlash pottery from the prehistoric Caspian Sea regions of Iran. This was followed by some modern arts, and the repeated gutting and remodeling of the interior.