Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History



  • Cup with a frieze of gazelles, early 1st millennium b.c.
    Northwestern Iran, Caspian region
    Gold

    H. 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1962 (62.84)

    A number of cups similar to this one have been found in the excavation of the rich burials at Marlik, a site southwest of the Caspian Sea in northern Iran.

    On the body of the cup, four gazelles, framed horizontally by guilloche bands, walk in procession to the left. Their bodies are rendered in repoussè and are detailed with finely chased lines to indicate hair and musculature. The projecting heads were made separately, as were the ears and horns, and were fastened invisibly in place by a colloid hard-soldering, a process much practiced in Iran involving glue and copper salt. The hooves and eyes are indented, probably to receive inlays.

    Related

    Index Terms

    Art Movement/Style

    Material and Technique

    Object

    Subject Matter/Theme

    Technical Glossary


    On view: Gallery 404
    MoveSeparatorPrint
    Close
    Cup with a frieze of gazelles, early 1st millennium b.c.
    Northwestern Iran, Caspian region
    Gold

    H. 2 9/16 in. (6.5 cm)
    Rogers Fund, 1962 (62.84)


    Move
    Close
    fullMultimediaText