The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 22, 2026

Silver bowl depicting leafy vines curving in circles around the rim with figures in the center, the background painted cream. The circle facing us depicts a stylized person in profile, stepping to our right. A bird stands in the upper right, between the vine circles. A serrated, silver pattern runs along the bowl's rim, featuring a row of circles below and curving, vertical lines within.

Bowl

500–700 CE

Iran, Sasanian Empire

(224–651 CE)
silver
Overall: 5 x 13.4 cm (1 15/16 x 5 1/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1966.369
Location: 102A Ancient Near East

Description

Every good Zoroastrian was supposed to spend one-third of his day farming; one-third philosophizing; and one-third eating, resting, and at pleasure. The abundance of Sasanian luxury goods is evidence of the importance accorded the last third of the day.
  • ?-1966
    Mrs. Elsa Rabenou, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1966-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Annual Report for 1966." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 6 (1967). p. 178 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. 15 archive.org
    Harper, Prudence Oliver. The Royal Hunter: Art of the Sasanian Empire. New York: Asia Society, 1978. Reproduced: pl. 14, p. 53; mentioned: pp. 53, 54
    Duchesne-Guillemin, Marcelle. Les Instruments De Musique Dans L' Art Sassanide. Gent: [s.n.], 1993. pp. 76-7, figs. 21a-b
    Grube, Ernst J., and Jeremy Johns. The Painted Ceilings of the Cappella Palatina. Genova: Bruschettini Foundation for Islamic and Asian Art, 2005. p. 160, fig. 38.3
    Demange, F. Les Perses sassanides: fastes d'un empire oublié, 224-642 : Musée Cernuschi, Musée des arts de l'Asie de la ville de Paris, 15 septembre-30 décembre 2006. Paris: Paris musées, 2006. cat. no. 41, pp. 103-104
    Brown, Peter, and Christopher Kelly. The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150-750. 2014.
  • Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY (organizer) (November 11, 2009-August 15, 2010); Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, OH (May 31-October 5, 2014).
    Les Perses Sassanides ou les Fastes d'un empire oublié. Musee Cernuschi, Paris, France (organizer) (September 14-December 31, 2006); The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (February 14-May 27, 2007).
    The Royal Hunter: Art of the Sasanian Empire. Asia House Galleries (organizer) (January 12-March 11, 1978); The Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX (April 10-May 21, 1978); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 7-August 13, 1978).
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Bowl|url=false|author=|year=500–700 CE|access-date=22 February 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.369