Dr. Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis has been Curator of Middle Eastern coins at the Department of Coins and Medals, British Museum, since 2005. She is currently the Joint Director of the International Parthian Coins Project. She has published extensively on ancient Persian coins, art and culture and is particularly interested in religious and royal iconography. She has also contributed to a series of exhibitions on Iran, including ‘Forgotten Empire. The World of Ancient Persia’ (2005-2006), and ‘The Cyrus Cylinder’ exhibition in Tehran (2010-2011), across the US (2013), and Mumbai, India (2013-14). She is also a member of the Academic Committee of the Iran Heritage Foundation and Honorary Director of the British Institute of Persian Studies.