Disk
The surface is entirely covered with an extended inhabited vine. At the bottom, a segment of a circle is filled with a scale pattern representing water, and populated with fish and birds; above is a stylized mountain formed by concentric lobes. From the central lobe rises a pair of vine stems which intertwine at three places before branching to right and left; the vine stems are flanked by rampant bears. The vines are heavily inhabited by birds in a variety of poses. In the lower right and left are jackals. Traces of gilding are preserved on the background and around the figures, indicating that the raised decoration was originally gilded.
Around the circumference on the surface are twelve perforations, each ca. 0.4 cm. in diameter, at approximately equal intervals, indicating that the objects was originally attached to another object or material.
- Provenance
- Provenance research underway.
- Description
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The surface is entirely covered with an extended inhabited vine. At the bottom, a segment of a circle is filled with a scale pattern representing water, and populated with fish and birds; above is a stylized mountain formed by concentric lobes. From the central lobe rises a pair of vine stems which intertwine at three places before branching to right and left; the vine stems are flanked by rampant bears. The vines are heavily inhabited by birds in a variety of poses. In the lower right and left are jackals. Traces of gilding are preserved on the background and around the figures, indicating that the raised decoration was originally gilded.
Around the circumference on the surface are twelve perforations, each ca. 0.4 cm. in diameter, at approximately equal intervals, indicating that the objects was originally attached to another object or material.
- Label
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This large disk must have been secured to another material, such as leather or wood, by means of the circular perforations around its rim. Did it decorate a piece of furniture, for example? We do not know. Traces of gilding are preserved on the background and around the figures, indicating that the raised decoration was originally gilded.
The decoration on the disk at least provides some clues to the date of manufacture. The composition of the decoration---inhabited vines with intertwined branches, flanked by rampant animals---is common in late Sasanian decorative arts. The patterned mountains from which the vines grow appear on a number of Sasanian silver vessels. Architectural stucco patterns of the fifth to seventh centuries preserve similar decorative patterns. The form and style of decoration thus suggest a date late in the Sasanian period, probably the seventh century.
- Published References
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- Sarah Fee. Cloth that Changed the World: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz. Exh. cat. Ontario, Canada, January 14, 2020. p. 110, fig. 9.2.
- Ann C. Gunter, Paul Jett. Ancient Iranian Metalwork in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and Mainz, Germany, 1992. cat. 40, pp. 214-16.
- Collection Area(s)
- Ancient Near Eastern Art
- Web Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- SI Usage Statement
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
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Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-S1987.139-000001