By 1700 B.C., people speaking Hittite—an Indo-European language—had founded a capital at Bogazköy (ancient Hattusha) and, under a series of powerful kings, established a state in central Anatolia. The Hittite army attacked and partly destroyed Babylon in 1595 B.C., and in 1285 B.C. fought a battle against the Egyptian king Ramesses II at Qadesh in Syria.
This silver drinking vessel in the form of a stag was hammered from one piece that was joined to the head by a checkerboard-patterned ring. Both the horns and the handle were attached separately. A frieze depicting a religious ceremony decorates the rim of the cup, suggesting the uses for which the cup was intended. A prominent figure, thought to be a goddess, sits on a cross-legged stool, holding a bird of prey in her left hand and a small cup in her right. She wears a conical crown and has large ears, typical of Hittite art. A mushroom-shaped incense burner separates her from a male god who stands on the back of a stag. He, too, holds a falcon in his left hand, while with his right he grasps a small curved staff. Three men are shown in profile, moving to the left and facing the deities. Each holds an offering to the divinities. Behind the men is a tree or plant against which rests the collapsed figure of a stag. Hanging from the tree is a quiver with arrows and an object that appears to be a bag. Two vertical spears complete the frieze and separate the stag from the goddess.
Cult scenes or religious processions are commonly represented in the art of the Hittite Empire, and texts make frequent reference to trees and plants associated with rituals or festivals. The texts also tell us that spears were venerated objects, so it is possible that the stag, killed in hunt, as is suggested by the quiver and bag, was being dedicated to the stag god. Hittite texts also mention that animal-shaped vessels made of gold, silver, stone, and wood, in the appropriate animal form, were given to the gods for their own use. Though the precise meaning of the frieze on this vessel remains a matter of conjecture, it is possible that it was intended to be the personal property of the stag god.
#7030. Vessel terminating in the forepart of a stag
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Drawing by C. Koken from R.M. Boehmer, "Reliefkeramik von Bogazkoy," as modified by H. Guterbock in Anadolu 22 (1981/1983)
Artwork Details
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Title:Vessel terminating in the forepart of a stag
Period:Hittite Empire
Date:ca. 14th–13th century BCE
Geography:Central Anatolia
Culture:Hittite
Medium:Silver, gold inlay
Dimensions:7 1/16 × 5 5/16 × 7 1/16 in., 0.7 lb. (18 × 13.5 × 18 cm, 0.3 kg)
Credit Line:Gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust, 1989
Object Number:1989.281.10
[Informally said to be on the art market in Istanbul]; [by 1965, Egon Beckenbauer, Munich]; by 1966, collection of Norbert Schimmel, New York; 1970-1989, on loan periodically to the Museum by Norbert Schimmel; acquired by the Museum in 1989, gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust.
“Ancient Art: the Norbert Schimmel Collection,” Cleveland Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Israel Museum, Novembe 13, 1974–December 12, 1977.
“Von Troja bis Amarna,” Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Archäologische Staatssammlung, Munich, Germany, 1978–1979.
“Wine: Celebration and Ceremony,” Cooper–Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, June 4–October 13, 1985.
“Ancient Art: Gifts from the Norbert Schimmel Collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, June 4, 1991–September 15, 1991.
“Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C.,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, November 17, 2008–March 15, 2009.
“Forgotten Kingdoms: From the Hittite Empire to the Arameans.” Musée du Louvre, Paris, May 2, 2019–August 12, 2019.
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Includes more than 7,000 works ranging in date from the eighth millennium B.C. through the centuries just beyond the time of the Arab conquests of the seventh century A.D.
