The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 15, 2026

A symmetrical bronze sculpture features two inward-facing animal heads with pointed ears and long, knobbed horns that sweep upward in graceful arcs. Below the bearded profiles, wavy metal bands twist to form open loops, connected by a central horizontal ring and anchored by a small base ring. The dark metal surface is punctuated by a chalky, light-green patina, highlighting the textured ridges and the slender, curved silhouette of the work.

Ibex Standard Finial

c. 700–600 BCE

Iran, Luristan

bronze
Overall: 13.5 x 9.7 x 1.9 cm (5 5/16 x 3 13/16 x 3/4 in.)
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Clara Taplin Rankin 1992.246
Location: 102A Ancient Near East

Did You Know?

Ibexes are wild goats from the Zagros Mountains of Iran and the Caucasus.

Description

This standard finial, a decorative tube perhaps used as a military emblem, is made of two abstracted ibexes. Their elongated forelegs form a ring where a pole may have once been inserted. An additional horizontal bar extends from their chests to support the ring. The cast bronze ibexes are decorated with ridged horns, curled beards, and twisted tails. Their hind legs join another ring. This standard is likely from Luristan, home to a seminomadic people who created a strong metalworking industry in the Iron Age.
  • Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1992." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (1993): 38-79. Reproduced: p. 52; Mentioned: p. 65 www.jstor.org
  • Selected Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 9-April 11, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Ibex Standard Finial|url=false|author=|year=c. 700–600 BCE|access-date=15 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.246