Ancient Near Eastern Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v ...
Ancient Near Eastern Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v ...
Ancient Near Eastern Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v ...
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neck are covered with gold foil. This<br />
combination <strong>of</strong> gold and silver was<br />
commonly used on metalwork <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Achaemenid period, and the fashion continued<br />
on later works <strong>of</strong> Parthian and<br />
Sasanian date.<br />
Another Achaemenid vessel (fig. 14)<br />
ends in the forepart <strong>of</strong> a lion. <strong>The</strong> mouth<br />
<strong>of</strong> the lion is open, and in characteristic<br />
<strong>Near</strong> <strong>Eastern</strong> fashion the tongue protrudes<br />
from between the teeth. <strong>The</strong> vessel<br />
is made <strong>of</strong> seven different parts, almost<br />
invisibly joined.<br />
A gilded silver rhyton (fig. 13), hornshaped<br />
and having a small spout for<br />
pouring, dates from the Parthian period<br />
(ca. first century B.C.) and is much influenced,<br />
in form and style, by the art <strong>of</strong> the<br />
late Hellenistic West. <strong>The</strong> panther wears<br />
a grape-and-leaf vine wound around its<br />
chest, and an ivy wreath encircles the rim<br />
<strong>of</strong> the vessel. <strong>The</strong>se motifs are symbols<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Greek wine god Dionysos, whose<br />
cult spread eastward at the time <strong>of</strong> the<br />
invasion <strong>of</strong> Alexander the Great in the<br />
late fourth century B.C. Dionysiac images<br />
-panthers, grapevines, and dancing females<br />
(see fig. 26)- continue to appear<br />
on the silverware <strong>of</strong> the Sasanian period<br />
(A.D. 226-651). On an oval bowl (see fig.<br />
11) dating from the end <strong>of</strong> this period a<br />
curling grapevine scroll is populated with<br />
birds and animals and frames a small<br />
male figure, bearded and partially nude.<br />
<strong>The</strong> vine scroll and the nude male figure<br />
(an unusual subject in Sasanian art) reflect<br />
the influence <strong>of</strong> Dionysiac imagery. <strong>The</strong><br />
significance <strong>of</strong> the Dionysiac motifs in<br />
Iranian art is unknown. <strong>The</strong>y are common<br />
on silverware <strong>of</strong> late Sasanian date<br />
and, during that period, may have referred<br />
to Iranian court festivals rather<br />
than to specific Dionysiac cult practices.<br />
Although royal images do not appear<br />
on the gold and silver vessels that have<br />
survived from the Achaemenid period,<br />
names <strong>of</strong> kings were inscribed on some<br />
examples around the rim (see fig. 72).<br />
On later vessels, notably those <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Sasanian period, there are no royal inscriptions<br />
but the king himself is represented,<br />
usually in a hunting scene (see fig. 63).<br />
Silver-gilt plates decorated in this fashion<br />
were probably intended as gifts for neighboring<br />
rulers or for members <strong>of</strong> the king's<br />
own court.<br />
<strong>Ancient</strong>exts state that goldsmiths fashioned<br />
not only vessels but also statues <strong>of</strong><br />
kings and divinities and many small objects,<br />
such as jewelry and other decorations<br />
for the clothing <strong>of</strong> the king and god.<br />
Only a small number <strong>of</strong> these treasured<br />
objects have survived, but the remains<br />
provide a glimpse <strong>of</strong> the luxury wares that<br />
were used at the royal court and dedicated<br />
by rulers to their gods. P.O.H.<br />
A<br />
I<br />
13 14<br />
16