Fragment of a grave stele

Fragment of a grave stele

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This alabaster block depicts nine stylized ibex heads carved in low relief and viewed frontally. Flanking the row of ibexes are two rectangular niched panels suggestive of temple facades. The ibex was the most widely represented animal in southwestern Arabian art. Ritual ibex hunts were an important feature of the cult practices of the southwestern Arabian kingdoms. Successfully capturing and killing these elusive creatures was believed to secure favors from the gods. Ibex skulls and horns were also used as architectural decorations on the upper corners of houses, where they are still occasionally found today.

Ancient Near Eastern Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.