Disc with floral decoration

Disc with floral decoration

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This curved oval plaque has been cut from a piece of shell and decorated with incised motifs. A lotus and bud pattern can be seen at both ends, each with a large central blossom. The two areas of floral decoration are separated in the middle by a strip of chevron motifs, pierced in the middle by a drilled hole. The surfaces of the piece, including the edges, have been polished to a smooth finish.

Ancient Near Eastern Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Disc with floral decorationDisc with floral decorationDisc with floral decorationDisc with floral decorationDisc with floral decoration

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.