Plaque

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fragments of shaped tiles made from variegated stones were found in the palace of Khusraw I at Ctesiphon. Such stones would have been placed together to form colorful pavements or wall panels. The technique of using semiprecious stones to make composite designs had been employed in the eastern Mediterranean since the Roman period and was associated with wealth and luxury.

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