Vessel terminating in the head of a ram

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the ancient world the horns of animals were used as drinking vessels and provided a prototype for clay and metal containers. The bottom of this silver vessel consists of a carefully modelled ram’s head with stylized curled horns. Its impressive size, combined with the commanding power imbued in the ram, seems designed to convey the authority of those who were privileged to drink from it. Comparison with excavated material indicates that it was most likely produced in northwestern Iran, in the late seventh century B.C. Expertise in silversmithing and a great sensitivity to the animal form characterize the metalwork of ancient Iran. This vessel began as a thick sheet or roughly shaped blank that gradually was hammered into the desired shape. Surface details such as the line around the ram’s nostrils and the hair pattern on the top of the animal’s head were added by punching and chasing, using metal tools to lightly strike the surface.

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