Openwork plaque with figures

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This example of an openwork bronze combines a flat plaque with a ring and symmetrically arranged framing figures that are fully modeled. The flat plaque has a knot-like appearance and is incised with a zig-zag pattern. Rosettes – symbols of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar – appear on the raised bosses and at the lower right. Above the central element, two kneeling male figures grasp a ring: both wear kilts and the extant figure is shaven except for a single lock of hair at the center of his forehead. On each side, a standing nude female faces forward. Each female raises her outer arm to her breast; the inner arm is attached to the back of the plaque. The bottom of the object is broken, but may have included an additional slot. The exact function of such openwork bronze plaques is not known. Cords, straps, or fabric were likely fed through slots in the plaque. The central element seems to evoke a strap or textile, and it is possible that this object was used as an implement in textile production. Other proposals identify openwork bronzes as horse trappings, belt buckles, and furniture elements.

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