Plaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kilts

Plaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kilts

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This openwork bronze stands out for its particularly detailed workmanship. The piece includes three symmetrically arranged figures – a nude female centrally placed and flanked by two bearded males wearing fringed kilts. The males stand, legs askew, upon a lower bracket, and all three figures support an upper bracket with raised arms. The upper bracket includes two front-facing lions (known elsewhere as symbols of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar). Musculature, facial features, locks of hair, and jewelry are all carefully depicted; both the fronts and the backs of the figures are modeled. Here, unusually, both male figures have curly hair and beards. The exact function of early second millennium B.C. openwork bronzes is not known. Cords, straps, or fabric were likely fed through slots in the plaque, and the rollers may have been used as horse trappings, belt buckles, furniture elements, and implements used in the production of textiles.

Ancient Near Eastern Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kiltsPlaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kiltsPlaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kiltsPlaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kiltsPlaque with a nude female between two bearded males wearing kilts

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.