This post is brought to you by our advertiser, the Asian Art Museum.

The Cyrus Cylinder, one of the most iconic objects in world history, is on its first ever US tour. Having survived the ancient world, many have called it the first charter of human rights. And now, for a limited time, Bay Area residents can see this symbol of international tolerance and justice on loan from the British Museum.

The Cylinder came to be when King Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BCE. He commissioned this small, baked-clay form with a cuneiform inscription documenting Cyrus's unprecedented return of enslaved people to their homelands and his support for freedom of worship. These values underlying ethical governance have inspired generations of philosophers, rulers, elected officials, and artists. The Cyrus Cylinder is truly an object of world heritage, produced for a Persian king in Iraq and seen and studied for more than 130 years in the British Museum. People worldwide celebrate its significance--a copy of the Cylinder is on display in the United Nations building in New York City, and it appears on postage stamps issued by the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2010-11, about a half million people saw it firsthand during an exhibition in Tehran. Don't miss your chance to see it during its brief appearance in San Francisco.

Tip: we recommend coming on a Thursday night. Pay just $5 after 5:00 pm on Thursdays, when we’re open until 9:00 pm. Special exhibition In the Moment is also on view.