Votive Pin with Decorated Disc

800–600 BCE

Iran, Luristan

Medium

silver, repoussé and incised

Measurements

Overall: 35.1 x 15.9 x 1.7 cm (13 13/16 x 6 1/4 x 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

James Parmelee Fund 1963.257

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Location

102A Ancient Near East

Did You Know?

Luristan votive pins were sometimes found pushed into the walls of religious sanctuaries.

Description

A complex mythological scene unfolds on the decorative disc of this silver pin. On the top register, two bearded figures carrying palm fronds and a bird extend a frond to a seated lion-headed man. Below, two figures holding fronds approach a man riding a bull. Two animal-headed beings flank the registers and perhaps hold banners in their hands. A pattern of stylized lotus buds and blossoms decorates the disk’s rim. The scene may represent a Mesopotamian or Iranian myth. The pin was made with the repoussé technique by hammering designs into the back.