Archéologie & Antiquiities

Achaemenid Gold Cloisonné Pectoral, 6th-4th century B.C.E. Gold and cloisonné, H. 26 cm.; W. 24 cm. © Miho Museum This pectoral is the most splendid example of Achaemenid court jewelry presently known. It comprises three different parts: a collar-like front section that is flat; a long, clasp-like, tubular element that attaches at duck's-head terminals; and a pendant hinged to the front. According to ancient sources, the Achaemenid "Kings of Kings" sometimes honored their followers with jewelry. These gifts befitted not only the... [Lire la suite]

Achaemenid Gold Bracelet with Inlaid Termini in the Form of Seated Ducks, mid-6th-4th century B.C.E. Gold with lapis lazuli, turquoise, onyx, and rock crystal inlay, mid-6th-4th century B.C.E., W. 10.5 cm. © Miho Museum The jeweler of this bracelet chose ducks as terminal figures and combined them with a rather heavy looking circlet that can be opened. The ducks were fashioned separately, and all the feathers and the eyes were originally characterized by inlays. The ducks' bills are not preserved. The birds are fixed to a single... [Lire la suite]

Achaemenid Gold Bracelet with Inlaid Termini in the Form of Duck's Heads, mid-6th-4th century B.C.E. Gold with lapis lazuli, agate, and carnelian inlay, W. 8 cm. © Miho Museum The massive bracelet is more or less a smaller, simplified version of catalogue number 40. The ducks are reduced to protomes with their heads turned back in a typical Achaemenid fashion.1 The bracelet is constructed of hollow gold tubing, and the duck protomes were formerly elaborately inlayed with colored stones. One duck bill is made of agate, the other of... [Lire la suite]

Achaemenid Silver Rhyton with Horned Lion Protome, 5th-4th century B.C.E. Silver with vitreous paste inlay, H. 17.5 cm. © Miho Museum The rhyton with an animal protome-a horn for liquids to which the depiction of the forepart of an animal was attached, at a right angle-was a vessel form that came more widely into use in the Near East during the Achaemenid period (about 538-331 B.C.). The protome of this rhyton depicts the forequarters of a fantastic hybrid creature, a leonine beast with curved blunt horns and upright ears, probably... [Lire la suite]

Late Classical East Greek Gilded Silver Rhyton in the Form of a Fawn's Head, 4th century B.C.E., H. 22. 5 cm. © Miho Museum This vessel was beaten from a single sheet of metal to form the deer head, and then the ears and handle were attached to that form. Thin hairs and eyelashes are carved on the face, and black pigment made in the niello technique of silver surface was then applied to the grooves of these incised lines. The eyelashes are the most visibly extant example of this technique. Recent research shows that the nostrils on... [Lire la suite]

Parthian Silver Rhyton with a Caracal Cat and a Fowl, Late 1st century B.C.E., H. 27 cm. © Miho Museum This stunning rhyton or drinking horn depicts the protome (forepart) of a desert lynx (caracal cat, Felis caracal), clutching a desperate cockerel in his paws. This object was made in two major parts - the horn and separately manufactured protome of the lynx and bird. According to Pieter Meyers, The beaker section is hammered from one piece of silver, with some period additions of silver alloy. The protome or section with the... [Lire la suite]

Late Classical Greek Silver Gilt Rhyton with a Horse Protome, 4th century B.C.E., Black Sea Region. Silver with gilding, H. 20.8 cm. © Miho Museum This rhyton is fitted with a finial shaped like the forequarters of a horse. The cup portion of the rhyton is decorated with vertical grooves, and the mouth rim area is surrounded by a band of ivy. The horse's two legs are extended to the front in a leaping posture, and there is a spout between the legs. The forehead section of mane has been clumped into a pillar-like form, while the... [Lire la suite]

Late Classical Greek Bronze Rhyton with a Stag Protome, Late Classical, ca. 4th century B.C.E., Asia Minor-Black Sea Region. Bronze, H. 37 cm. © Miho Museum This rhyton is an example of a special type of vessel that was used by the Greeks for religious rituals. The word rhyton derives from the Greek verb "to pour through," which accurately describes what happens when liquid is added to the rhyton's flared mouth, since it immediately passes through the vessel and streams out through the open spout on the other end. This slender... [Lire la suite]

Achaemenid Fragmentary Silver Rhyton with a Horse Protome, 5th-early 4th century B.C.E. Silver, H. 27 cm. © Miho Museum This rhyton originally was made in two basic parts: the horizontally ribbed horn-now missing a section in the middle-with its plain, slightly flaring rim, and the terminal in the form of a horse protome with arched neck and with forelegs tightly folded under. The mane is dressed with a roached (clipped) central crest flanked by a short fringe along either side, and the forelock is tied upright, trimmed in a stiff... [Lire la suite]

Pre-Achaemenid Silver Rhyton with Ibex Protome and Appliques, 8th-6th century B.C.E. Silver and electrum, H. 13.5 cm. © Miho Museum