H x W x D (overall): 32.5 x 15.2 x 12.3 cm (12 13/16 x 6 x 4 13/16 in)
Type:
Vessel
Origin:
Iran
Date:
6th-7th century
Period:
Sasanian period
Description:
Weight: 1167.4 g.
On the body of the vessel are three female figures, each holding a pair of attributes: a flower and a bird, a peacock and a pyxis, and a child and a bowl of fruit. Each figure stands on a short, isolated "ground line." The figures are in three-quarter view. They have halos and topknots, and are dressed in a similar fashion. The figures wear a tight-fitting, long-sleeved garment whose fabric is decorated with a ring-punched pattern. A scarf or shawl is draped round the figure in front, at the upper thigh; the ends are wrapped around the forearms and fall in thick folds around the legs. The heads of the figures are adorned with a tiara-like headband which bears a central circular ornament, and they wear a necklace and earrings.
Provenance:
To 1967
R. & D. Anavian, Tehran, Iran [1]
From 1967 to 1987
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), New York, purchased from R. & D. Anavian on May 2, 1967 [1]
From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Dr. Arthur M. Sackler, New York [2]
Notes:
[1] See invoice for purchase dated May 2, 1967 in object file, Collections Management.
[2] Pursuant to the agreement between Dr. Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World (April 6, 2022 to August 8, 2022)
Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran (February 4, 2012 - ongoing)
The Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings (October 23, 2010 to April 17, 2011)
The Heroic Past: The Persian Book of Kings (June 4 to October 29, 2000)
America's Smithsonian (February 9 to August 26, 1997)
Nomads and Nobility: Art from the Ancient Near East (September 28, 1987 to November 1, 1992)