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The Parthians defeated the Seleucids towards the
end of the third century BC and went on to found
an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean
to the Indus. Formerly a Central Asian nomadic
people they acquired great wealth through their
control of caravan cities along the Silk Route. Led
by the Arsacid Dynasty, they were Rome’s
strongest opponents in the East. The Romans
disputed territory in Syria, Armenia and
Mesopotamia but were often defeated in battle
by the superiority of the Parthian cavalry. In
contrast to their hostile relationship with Rome,
the Parthians seem to have courted the favour of
the Chinese Han Dynasty. As early as the second
century BC the Chinese explorer Zhang Qian
visited Parthia and described it as an advanced
urban civilisation. Embassies were sent in both
directions and trade with China flourished. A
detailed account of Parthian civilisation has yet to
be written- partly because so little of their own
literature has survived. Historians are forced to
rely on foreign histories and numismatic
evidence. However it is clear from the coins
alone that Parthian kings were consciously
modelling themselves on their Achaemenid
predecessors and attached great significance to
the visual arts.
Glazed turquoise/green vessels are one of the
most distinctive Parthian art forms. Glazed
ceramics were extremely rare in the Middle East
prior to the Islamic period. Only in China were
glazed wares common at this early date and it is
possible that diplomatic and trading ties
encouraged this development in the Parthian
lands. Despite their dazzling beauty these wares
were used for practical purposes such as the
storage and transportation of liquids and grains.
The colour was created from copper and iron
oxides mixed in an alkaline glaze. This was
applied on top of a fine white paste so that the
reddish surface of the clay would not show
through. The shapes of the vessels reveal a
reliance on Greek and Mesopotamian forms-
although it is not easy to separate these two
traditions as the eastern Greeks had themselves
borrowed ideas from the Mesopotamians. It has
also been suggested that in their colour and
form there is some attempt to imitate metallic
vessels which were undoubtedly more expensive.
The green glaze has been likened to the patina
that bronze acquires over time and some of the
decorative elements have been compared to
twisted metal.
The word rhyton derives from the Greek verb
meaning “to run through.” Paintings on the sides
of Greek vases depict revelers using rhytons to
aerate and drink wine. The wine was poured into
the top of the vessel and came out from the
animal-headed spout that emerges from the
woman’s neck. This gorgeous rhyton has been
covered in a stunning turquoise-colored glaze
that imitates the hue of the gemstone, a rare
material that was highly prized in antiquity. The
main body of the rhyton is in the form of a
luxurious woman’s head topped by a wide-body
vessel that rises from her head. Her hair has
been elegantly coiffed and she wears a diadem
crown that asserts her royal, or possibly even
divine, status. Perhaps she was modeled after a
famed and powerful queen. Once, a king or a
member of his close circle would have drunk
wine from this rhyton. Today, it remains a
stunning symbol of the glories of the Parthians
and the beauty of their art.
- (X.0360)
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