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Ancient Middle East


Oriental Antiquities.



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Three orants,Baktrian,Afghanistan. End 3rd,beginning 2nd Mill.BCE Bronze, 11,3 x 19,9 cm
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Three orants,Baktrian,Afghanistan. End 3rd,beginning 2nd Mi...

Ceremonial adze,from Baktria,Northern Afghanistan; end 3rd,beginning 2nd Mill.BCE. Silver and gold,maximum length 12,68 cm
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Ceremonial adze,from Baktria,Northern Afghanistan; end 3rd,beginning 2nd Mi...

Ceremonial hammer from Daulatabad near Balkh, Baktria,northern Afghanistan. End 3rd,beginning 2nd Mill.BCE Silver,partially gilded.Maximum length 20,1 cm
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Ceremonial hammer from Daulatabad near Balkh, Baktria,northern Afghani...

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara-Padmapani from Baktria, 6th-7th CE Bronze,eyes setris-silver.
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Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara-Padmapani from Baktria, 6th-7th CE...

Ceramic vessel in the form of a figure, Amlash, from the Marlik region, north-western Iran, early 1st millennium BCE. This figure comes from the so-called Amlash culture of Gilan province in north-western Iran. This was one of the most distinctive Iranian cultures of the late second and early first millennia BCE. Similar vessels were excavated at Marlik Tepe, one of the richest cemeteries of the region and where fifty-three intact tombs were excavated in 1961-62. The most spectacular group of vessels from Marlik consists of a series of anthropomorphic shapes. These took the form of squatting, bear-like figures or standing nude females and males. Some of these closely resemble smaller cast-bronze statuettes also found at this site. In addition more naturallistically modelled zoomorphic vessels in the form of hump-backed bulls, stags, rams, horses or donkeys and even a leopard were excavated. The ceramic figures are heavily stylized with exaggerated physical features, such as prominent buttocks and swollen legs, perhaps designed so they could stand upright. Their pinched ears were pierced for metal earrings. It was hollow and is therefore presumed to have been used as a form of container. ANE, 136794
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Ceramic vessel in the form of a figure, Amlash, from the Marlik region, north-we...

Hump-backed pottery bull, Amlash culture, from the Marlik region, north-west Iran, early 1st millennium BC. This vessel belongs to the Amlash culture of Gilan province in north-west Iran, one of the most distinctive Iranian cultures of the late second and early first millennia BC. This type of vessel, in the form of a hump-backed bull may have had a ceremonial function, although they were certainly also placed in graves. Examples were excavated at Marlik Tepe, one of the richest cemeteries of the region. Here fifty-three intact tombs were excavated in 1961-62. Thirty-three burnished zoomorphic vessels (that is, in animal form) were excavated, and these were in the form of not only of hump-backed bulls but also stags, rams, horses or donkeys and even a leopard. These containers were clearly intended as pourers, but their exact function remains uncertain. ANE, 132973
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Hump-backed pottery bull, Amlash culture, from the Marlik region, north-west Ira...

Stone relief from the Apadana (audience hall) at Persepolis, Achaemenid Persian, from Persepolis, south-west Iran, 6th-5th century BC. This broken relief from the Persian royal capital Persepolis depicts a row of so-called Susian guards. They are very similar to figures formed from moulded glazed bricks from the city of Susa. They may represent the 'immortals' who made up the king's personal bodyguard. Towards the end of the reign of the Persian king Cambyses a revolt broke out. On his way to deal with the problem, Cambyses was accidentally killed. The rebellion was eventually crushed by a group of seven conspirators and one of them, Darius, became the next king. He was keen to stress his legitimacy and founded Persepolis as a new royal centre. His successors Xerxes, Artaxerxes I and Artaxerxes III continued to build at Persepolis.The most important structures were built on a terrace of natural rock which rose above the surrounding plain. Remains of some fifteen major buildings survive, including the Apadana or audience hall. This relief comes from the north side of the east wing of the Apadana, where the figures decorated a staircase. The reliefs originally showed the enthroned Persian king in the centre, while towards him moved processions of tribute bearers representing twenty-three different subject peoples.Persepolis was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. ANE, 118838
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Stone relief from the Apadana (audience hall) at Persepolis, Achaemenid Persian,...

Gold jug from the Oxus treasure, Achaemenid Persian, 5th-4th century BC. Fine gold jug with a lion-headed handle and ridged decoration. The jug is part of the Oxus treasure, the most important collection of silver and gold to have survived from the Achaemenid period. The treasure, probably from a temple on the banks of the Oxus River, Takht-i Kuwad, Tadjikistan, contained objects such as this jug which were dedicated to the temple. Another possibilty is that the Oxus treasure should be viewed as a hoard of currency. There was a long tradition in the ancient Middle East of using precious metal, gold and particularly silver, for purposes of exchange. Goods - even when finely wrought - were valued according to the weight of metal. Metal continued to be used for currency even after the introduction of coinage. ANE, 123918
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Gold jug from the Oxus treasure, Achaemenid Persian, 5th-4th century BC. Fine go...

Gold model chariot from the Oxus treasure, Achaemenid Persian, from the region of Takht-i Kuwad, Tadjikistan, 5th-4th century BC. This remarkable model is one of the most outstanding pieces in the Oxus treasure, which dates mainly from the 5th and 4th centuries BC, and is the most important surviving collection of gold and silver to have survived from the Achaemenid period. The model chariot is pulled by four horses or ponies. In it are two figures wearing Median dress. The Medes were from Iran, the centre of the Achaemenid empire. The front of the chariot is decorated with the Egyptian dwarf-god Bes, a popular protective deity. ANE, 123908
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Gold model chariot from the Oxus treasure, Achaemenid Persian, from the region o...

Gold head from the Oxus treasure, Achaemenid Persian, 5th-4th century BC. Beaten gold head of a beardless youth with pierced ears. It may have been part of a statue, perhaps in another material such as wood. It is part of the Oxus treasure, the most important collection of gold and silver to have survived from the Achaemenid period. The treasure was found on the banks of the River Oxus, Takht-i Kuwad, Tadjikistan, and probably comes from a temple there. ANE, 123906
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Gold head from the Oxus treasure, Achaemenid Persian, 5th-4th century BC. Beaten...

Gold masks, Parthian, from Nineveh, northern Iraq, 2nd century. These gold masks come from graves on the site of the former Late Assyrian citadel at Nineveh. They were discovered in 1852. The graves date to a period when Nineveh was an an important town in the independent state of Adiabene, situated between the Parthian and Roman empires. Occasional finds of Roman pottery, coins and military equipment hint that Nineveh may have briefly been incorporated within the eastern Roman Empire. In the graves bodies had been placed in stone-lined cists roughly built from slabs of stone. It is not clear exactly how many tombs were discovered. The tomb from which these masks came possibly contained two bodies, one of which was identified by the excavator as a woman. A pair of fine earrings was also found in the tomb, together with a covering for the eyes, finger rings, gold buttons and beads and a coin of the Roman emperor Tiberius (reigned AD 14-37). The masks were placed over the faces of the corpses. This tradition is also attested from burials excavated in the eastern Roman Empire, reinforcing the evidence for cultural links between Rome and its eastern neighbours during this period. ANE, 123894;ANE, 123895
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Gold masks, Parthian, from Nineveh, northern Iraq, 2nd century. These gold masks...

Clay coffin from Iraq, Parthian, 1st century. The body and lid are decorated with stamped figures of soldiers covered with a green glaze. These so-called slipper-coffins with oval lids were built by joining slabs of clay to form a slipper-like shape, adding a finer clay skim and impressing or incising the decoration; the final stages involve covering the outside with a green glaze and firing the coffins in an upright position within the kiln. The hole in the foot of the coffin was probably intended to ease the manufacture. This is one of three complete coffins from Uruk, southern Iraq, once a flourishing religious centre. WK Loftus, who excavated them in 1850 records that he only succeeded in removing them 'after many fruitless attempts and the demolition of perhaps a hundred specimens'. ANE, 92006
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Clay coffin from Iraq, Parthian, 1st century. The body and lid are decorated wit...