Fragments of plaque with fantastic creatures

Fragments of plaque with fantastic creatures

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This bronze plaque, now in three pieces, depicts two fantastic creatures in repousse. The creatures, which resemble stylized lions, face each other with their mouths open. They have long, bulbous snouts, round eyes, and spikes running down their backs which may represent manes. More of the creature on the left is preserved, including its hindquarters and the tip of its tail. A border of raised dots is visible at the top and right side of the image. 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. Despite being found in Luristan, the style of the plaque is quite different from that of other Iron Age metalwork from the region, suggesting it may be an import.

Ancient Near Eastern Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fragments of plaque with fantastic creaturesFragments of plaque with fantastic creaturesFragments of plaque with fantastic creaturesFragments of plaque with fantastic creaturesFragments of plaque with fantastic creatures

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.