Description:
This small toy was made from two mold pieces sealed together. The toy is beginning to split apart along the attachment points, at the ears and down the back. It is fully intact with a mouth, eyes and a decorated tail. The inside is likely hollow because the piece is relatively lightweight. There is some light coloring on the neck.
Label Text:
Installed in Art Before 700 CE, Spring 2025 Label:
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, 1931.1.A(c).I, 2012.40.11, 1973.4.1-.9.A(c).I, and 2012.40.12]
Tags:
ancient; archaeology; animals Subjects:
Animals; archaeological objects; Civilization, Ancient; Bronze Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+2021.5.11 |
