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Plaque with horned animal

ca. 8th–7th century BCE
Not on view
This bronze plaque has an image of a horned recumbent animal, possibly an ibex. The image is surrounded by a border of raised dots. The plaque was hammered from a single sheet of bronze. It has no attachment holes, making it unclear what purpose it served. Possibly it was made as a votive.

This plaque 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.

The ibex is a distinctly Iranian motif, as they are native to the Zagros Mountains of western Iran, but did not live, for example, on the plains of Mesopotamia. Thus they are a marker of the unique, mountain identity of the people living in western Iran during the Iron Age.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Plaque with horned animal
  • Period: Iron Age III
  • Date: ca. 8th–7th century BCE
  • Geography: Iran, Luristan, Surkh Dum
  • Culture: Iran
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 1 × 2 1/16 × 1/16 in. (2.6 × 5.2 × 0.2 cm)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1943
  • Object Number: 43.102.12
  • Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art

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