Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis

Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis (b. 1951 ) is the British Museum's Curator of Middle Eastern coins. She is Joint Director of the International Parthian Coin Project, The Sylloge Nummorum Parthicorum (SNP), and Joint Editor of the SNP series.

Curtis was born in Tehran in 1951. She obtained her MA in Near Eastern Archaeology and Ancient Iranian Languages from the University of Göttingen and her PhD on Parthian art from University College London. In 1983-2003, Curtis was the Joint Editor of Iran: Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies, in 1998-2003 Secretary of the British Institute of Persian Studies (BIPS), in 2006-2011, President of BIPS, and in 2005-2010 secretary of the Royal Numismatic Society. Curtis is a member of the Academic Committee of the Iran Heritage Foundation (IHF).

Curtis is the honorary director of the British Institute of Persian Studies. She is married to John Curtis FBA, CEO of the Iran Heritage Foundation and the British Museum Keeper of Special Middle East Projects.

Curtis has taken part in expert panels on In Our Time four times.

Selected publications

 * Rivalling Rome. Parthian Coins and Culture, by Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis and Alexandra Magub (Spink, 2020); ISBN 9781912667444