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Portrait Head of a Ruler

Iran (Elamite) Portrait Head of a Ruler: ca. 2100-2000 B.C. From AICT: Art Images for College Teaching....

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Assyrian Soldiers Towing a Boat

Assyrian Soldiers Towing a Boat is a bas-relief sculpture from the palace of King Sargon II at Khorsabad, dating to the 8th century BCE. It depicts a group of Assyrian soldiers towing a boat through a shallow river. The soldiers are naked, except for helmets and belts, and they are pulling the boat with ropes. The boat is carrying a load of supplie...

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Foundation Slab of Xerxes

Iran: Persepolis, Garrison quarters; Achaemenid Period; Reign of Xerxes, ca. 485-465 B.C. Gray limestone. Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1935. "This stone tablet inscribed with Babylonian cuneiform characters lists the nations under Persian rule shortly after the uprisings that occurred when Xerxes came to the throne."...

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Cup Supported by Heroes and Animals

Iraq: Tell Agrab, Shara Temple; Jamdat Nasr/Early Dynastic I, ca. 3100-2750 B.C. Gypsum (?). Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1935-6. This elaborate vessel was discovered in the Shara Temple where it was probably used to place offerings before the god. The decoration of its openwork support shows a hero, naked except for a double-strand belt, g...

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Whetstone with bronze handle

Luristan culture, about 1000-700 BC This is a whetstone, used to sharpen weapons and tools of bronze and iron. It dates to the early first millennium BC. Although by this time the use of iron had become widespread, bronze remained one of the most commonly used metals. Normally they were very simple tools: just a stone perforated at the top and fit...

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Pazuzu Demon

Iraq; ca. 800-600 B.C. Bronze. Oriental Museum. Purchased in New York, 1943. "The demon Pazuzu represented by this figurine stands like a human but has a scorpion's body, feathered wings and legs, talons, and a lion-like face on both front and back. Pazuzu, the "king of the evil wind demons," was not entirely unfriendly to mankind. As an enemy of t...

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Crater with Ibexes

Iran: Chogha Mish; Middle Susiana 3; Late 5th millennium B.C. Baked clay. Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1965-6. "The geographical term "Susiana," referring to the area ruled in the historical period by the city of Susa, is also applied to the prehistoric cultures of lowland southwestern Iran. Representational designs such as the stylized wil...

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Cheekpiece from Horse Bit

Cheekpiece from Horse Bit. Western Iran, Luristan ca. 8th - 7th centuries B.C. Bronze....

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Two Assyrian Court Officials

Two Assyrian Court Officials is a bas-relief sculpture from the palace of King Sargon II at Khorsabad, dating to the 8th century BCE. It depicts two high-ranking Assyrian officials, who are likely eunuchs, standing side by side. The figures are dressed in elaborate robes and jewelry, and they both carry ceremonial staffs. The figure on the left is ...

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Four-Faced God and Goddess

Iraq: Ishchali (?); Old Babylonian Period, 18th-17th century B.C. Bronze. Purchased in Baghdad, 1930. "Illicit diggers found these four-faced statuettes, which may represent a god of the four winds and a goddess of rainstorms. The god wears a low cap with a pair of horns meeting above each face. He carries a scimitar in his right hand and places hi...

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