Disc with running dogs surrounding a mountain goat

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This bronze disk with a rectangular loop in the back is a unique piece possibly from the Caucasus region. There are no known excavated parallels, but it was acquired by the Museum along with other objects that probably originated in the Republic of Georgia. A raised striated circle surrounds the edge of the disk. Inside this frame are four dogs in running position. The dogs have collars formed by the same technique as the frame. In the center of the disk is a relief image of a mountain goat with its legs folded underneath. The goat's horns are displayed frontally, making the identification of the animal indisputable. The horns of the goat are striated like the frame and the dogs' collars, visually linking the elements of the disk and each other. Similar dogs and goats are known from Georgian belt clasps suggesting the attribution of this disk to the first to third centuries A.D. Collared dogs, however, are unusual in the art of the Caucasus.

Ancient Near Eastern Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art cares for approximately 7,000 works ranging in date from the eighth millennium B.C. through the centuries just beyond the emergence of Islam in the seventh century A.D. Objects in the collection were created by people in the area that today comprises Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean coast, Yemen, and Central Asia. From the art of some of the world's first cities to that of great empires, the department's holdings illustrate the beauty and craftsmanship as well as the profound interconnections, cultural and religious diversity, and lasting legacies that characterize the ancient art of this vast region.

Metropolitan Museum of Art