Head of pin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is the head of a bronze pin in the form of a demon or supernatural creature, surmounted by a recumbent animal. The demon’s head is framed by two thick lines that meet and form its nose; its eyes are raised pellets. Two loops extend from the top of its head; these probably represent hair curls or horns. A recumbent animal sits on the demon’s head, with its folded legs disappearing behind it. It is impossible to say what kind of animal it is, as both its head and tail are now missing, and its form is stylized. This pinhead 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. Pins were probably used to fasten clothing and as objects of adornment in their own right.

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