Male figure

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This kneeling male figure would have originally been part of a larger openwork composition. Openwork bronzes are known from the early second millennium B.C. in a variety of forms, but their function in antiquity is not fully understood. Slots and circular openings in the plaques suggest their use with cords, straps, or fabric. The kneeling male seen here – in a belted skirt and clean-shaven – appears on many of the plaques and would have been one of a pair, symmetrically arranged. Clean-shaven individuals in Mesopotamian art are often associated with the temple, where their lack of hair may have been a marker of purity and cleanliness.

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