Description:
"Master of Animals" style. Roughly symmetrical design of a heraldic grouping of figures centered on a vertical, cylindrical shaft (which is hollow). Two human-like faces decorate the upper half of the object, on both the front and the back. The faces are flanked by two animal-form heads that extend out from the shaft, forming loops on either side of the object. Below the faces are three raised bands around the shaft. Below the bands, the shaft is ornamented with animal flanks/hind-quarters on either side.
Label Text:
Pastoralism in Iran and Central Asia
The migrations of pastoralist peoples facilitated some of the earliest exchanges of culture and material across the Eurasian continent. Nomadic herders interacted with local farming populations to form Bronze Age societies across the Mediterranean, Near East, Iran, Central Asia, India, and China. In this case, images of wild and domesticated animals, ornaments associated with horseback-riding, and the animal-head drinking cup all point to the interconnectedness of humans and animals in herder and farmer cultures in Central Asia and Iran. In the case to the right of this one, you will see chariots and horses represented on Han Chinese artworks and these tell a similar story of cultural interaction and appropriation. These objects collectively speak to how important the interplay between nomadic and settled peoples was to patterns of contact and exchange in early Eurasia.
– Richard Lim, Professor of History, Smith College
[Displayed with 1931.2.A(c).I, 2012.40.11, 1973.4.1-.9.A(c).I, 2021.5.11, and 2012.40.12]
Tags:
ancient; archaeology; funeral rites and ceremonies; horses Subjects:
archaeological objects; Civilization, Ancient; Funeral rites and ceremonies; Horses; Bronze Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+1931.1.A%28c%29.I |
