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Head of a pin: human head and wings

ca. 8th–7th century BCE
Not on view
This bronze pin (the shaft is mostly missing) is decorated with a human head. The head has a large nose, puffy cheeks and thick lips. Below the head are two projects, probably wings.

This pin was excavated at Surkh Dum, a settlement site in Luristan in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran. It was found in a structure interpreted as a sanctuary and was thus probably an offering to a god. Such pins were probably used to fasten clothing and as objects of adornment in their own right. Another very similar pin, also excavated at Surkh Dum, is in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Head of a pin: human head and wings
  • Period: Iron Age II
  • Date: ca. 8th–7th century BCE
  • Geography: Iran, Luristan, Surkh Dum
  • Culture: Iran
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 1.38 in. (3.51 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1943
  • Object Number: 43.102.17
  • Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art

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