The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 15, 2026

A teardrop-shaped gilded silver vessel flares slightly at the mouth and is decorated with a silver depiction of a stylized person stepping to our right. They hold a flower up with their left hand, their right hanging down and clasping a leafy branch with a dot-speckled fruit. Hints of other figures can be seen, wrapping around from other sides, with a child dangling from the hand of one of these figures visible lower right.

Anahita Vessel

300–500 CE

Iran, Sasanian Empire

(224–651 CE)
silver, cast, raised, repoussé, chased, and gilted
Overall: 18.5 x 11.5 cm (7 5/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
Gift of Katharine Holden Thayer 1962.294
Location: 102A Ancient Near East

Description

These dancers may be sacred images of the Zoroastrian religion of the Sasanians or they may be bacchantes, followers of a cult of the Roman wine god, Bacchus, who was popular in the Near East.
  • Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review for 1963.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 50, no. 10 (December 1963): 263–294. Mentioned: p. 295, no. 158; reproduced: p. 265 www.jstor.org
    Shepherd, Dorothy G. “Sasanian Art in Cleveland.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 51, no. 4, 1964, pp. 66–92. Discussed p. 83-86, Reproduced figs. 22-23, color plate p.81 www.jstor.org
    Harper, Prudence Oliver. "The Heavenly Twins." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 23, no. 5 (January 1965): 186-196.
     Reproduced: p. 190, fig. 5 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 14 archive.org
    Shepherd, Dorothy G., and Joseph Ternbach. “Two Silver Rhyta.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 53, no. 8 (October 1966): 289–317. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 307, fig. 17a www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 14 archive.org
    Gibbons, D.F., K.C. Ruhl and L.S. Staikoff, "Analysis of Sasanian Silver Objects: A Comparison of Techniques" Archaeological Chemistry. June 1, 1974 , 11-21. pubs.acs.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 7 archive.org
    Neils, Jenifer. “The Twain Shall Meet.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 72, no. 6, 1985, pp. 326–359. Reproduced: p. 338, fig. 21 www.jstor.org
    Overlaet, Bruno, ed. Hofkunst van de Sassanieden, Het Perzische Rijk Tussen Rome En China (224-642). Brussels, KMKG, 1993. Discussed p. 99, Plate 84.
    Christman, Bruce. "Three Gilded Vessels." In Gilded Metals: History, Technology and Conservation. Terry Drayman Weisser, ed., 169-184. London, England: Archetype Publications in association with the American Institute of Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works, 2000. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 179, fig. 10.12
    Ettinghausen, Richard. "Dionysiac Motifs." In Late Antique and Medieval Art of the Mediterranean World. Eva R. Hoffman, editor. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2007. Reproduced: p. 53, fig. 44
    David Aaron Ancient Arts (Gallery). David Aaron.
    London : [David Aaron], 2017. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 113, fig. 1
  • All That Glitters: Great Silver Vessels in Cleveland's Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 23, 1994-January 8, 1995).
    The Twain Shall Meet. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1985-January 5, 1986).
    Paintings by Tao-chi. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (organizer) (August 13-September 29, 1967).
    Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).
  • {{cite web|title=Anahita Vessel|url=false|author=|year=300–500 CE|access-date=15 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.294