I was browsing the British Museum's shop looking for Persian items and came across a replica of the Cyrus Cylinder. It was not the first time I had seen one - artist Nasser Ovissi used to sell smaller gold ones to homesick Iranians in the Washington DC area in the 90's.

I was going to pass to the next item in the shop when the price grabbed me: £2,000 ($3,000)!

It's unfortunate enough that the cylinder is not in its original home. But selling copies of our greatest national treasure at a hideous price is really tasteless.

The description reads:

An exact replica of the Cyrus Cylinder, made from hand-patinated resin by Andrew Lilley, a UK-based sculptor. The replica is presented in a custom cherry wood box with brass detailing.

The Cyrus Cylinder is often referred to as the first bill of human rights as it appears to encourage freedom of worship throughout the Persian Empire and to allow deported people to return to their homelands.

It was inscribed in Babylonian cuneiform (cuneiform is the earliest form of writing) on the orders of the Persian King Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC) after he captured Babylon in 539 BC.

It was rediscovered in Babylon in modern Iraq in 1879 during a British Museum excavation and has been on display ever since.

This replica has been made from a cast of the original object, and hand painted in the UK by Andrew Lilley.

Hand-painted by Andrew Lilley? In the UK? And presented in a "custom" cherry-wood box? What a magnificent bargain! I'm sure Iranians who are terribly tired of the Islamic Republic and revere Cyrus more than ever, will rush to buy it and single-handedly balance Britain's budget.

Honestly, I would be surprised if more than ten have been sold. There are lots of crazy rich Iranians and there are lots of Iranians who worship the "golden age". But the rich aren't that patriotic and I guarantee you no member of the Cyrus super-fan club has even £200 in the bank.

To be fair, the shop also offers Cyrus Cylinder earrings and necklace for £45 and £75, but still. What the hell were they thinking? Would you sell copies of the Magna Carta or the U.S. Constitution for thousands of dollars? What am I thinking? They probably do, somewhere.

On second thought this just might be the perfect piece of pretentious furniture for the homes of the nouveau riche in Iran who made their millions prior to the oil crash. Especially religious ones who want to be accepted in the fashionable secular-nationalist crowd.

Brilliant idea British Museum. We'll demand our cut some day.