Pin in the form of a lion

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of the most characteristic objects from Hasanlu is the so-called lion pin. Over sixty have been excavated at the site, most in Burned Building II, where they are associated—in groups of one, two, or three—with the many skeletons of individuals killed within the building at the time of its destruction. The pin, presumably used to fasten a garment, is a solid bronze reclining lion with the front paws extended and joined at the rear to an iron pin. A bronze chain attached to a loop created by a curve in the tail held the pin securely to the garment. The lion pins found at Hasanlu vary in size and weight as well as in decorative details. This example has a long mane running the length of its back. An upward curling tongue protrudes from its wide gaping mouth, and globular eyes are set on either side of its flattened head.

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