Panel fragment

This object is one of three related fragments in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, said to be from Ziwiye, which depict hunting and battle scenes (51.131.9; 51.131.11; 51.131.12). Stylistic differences suggest they were carved by different artisans, but all three show a familiarity with the scenes depicted in the stone reliefs that decorated Assyrian palaces. Because of their similarity to the Assyrian reliefs, they have been classified as Assyrian style ivories. They were likely used as furniture decoration. On this piece, a mounted hunter aims a spear towards a fleeing animal at right, perhaps a deer. The hunter wears a garment with a fringe that runs along the thigh, and a long earring or feather hangs from his ear. Details such as the horse’s harness and the coat of the hunter’s prey are incised.

In 1947 a treasure was reputedly found at a mound near the village of Ziwiye in northwestern Iran. Objects attributed to Ziwiye are stylistically similar to Assyrian art of the eighth and seventh centuries B.C. as well as to the art of contemporary Syria, Urartu, and Scythia. Many objects of gold, silver, bronze, ivory, and ceramic have since appeared on the antiquities market with the provenance of Ziwiye, although there is no way to verify this identification.