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This piece dates from the Achaemenid Empire
(559-330 BC), one of the most dynamic and
historically significant socio-political entities of
the first millennium BC. The era was ushered in
with a series of major martial victories in the
Aegean area under the rule of Cyrus, who went
on to besiege and capture Babylon in 539 BC; his
release of Jews who had been held captive there
earned him immortality in the Book of Isaiah.
The empire continued to grow until Cyrus’ death
in
529 BC, by which time the kingdom extended as
far as the Hindu Kush in present-day
Afghanistan.
His successor was less successful, however.
Governance by Cyrus's unstable son, Cambyses
II, let the empire fall into disrepair. A coup led by
a priest, Gaumata, was overthrown in 522 BCE by
a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenid
family under Darius I (also known as
Darayarahush or Darius the Great). Darius may
have managed to hold the empire, but his defeat
at the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) forced the
Achaemenids to withdraw to Asia Minor. This
resulted in a period of consolidation and internal
development that saw major improvements to
the infrastructure of the reduced – yet healthy –
empire.
However, this period of amelioration was
destined to be short lived. Following the death of
Darius in 486 BC, his son and successor, Xerxes,
was chiefly occupied with suppressing revolts in
Egypt and Babylonia. He also attempted to
conquer the Greek Peloponnesus, but
overextended his forces and suffered
overwhelming defeats at Salamis and Plataea. By
the time his successor, Artaxerxes I, died in 424
BCE, the imperial court was beset by factionalism
among the lateral family branches, a condition
that persisted until the death in 330 of the last
of
the Achaemenids, Darius III, at the hands of his
own subjects.
The cultural achievements of the Achaemenids
were considerable. They were basically
enlightened despots who allowed a certain
amount of regional autonomy in the form of the
satrapy system. The twenty satrapies were linked
by a 2,500-kilometre highway, the most
impressive stretch being the royal road from
Susa to Sardis, built by command of Darius.
Relays of mounted couriers could reach the most
remote areas in fifteen days. Royal inspectors,
the "eyes and ears of the king," toured the
empire and reported on local conditions, and the
king maintained a personal bodyguard of 10,000
men, called the Immortals. Darius revolutionised
the economy by placing it on a silver and gold
coinage system. Trade was extensive, and under
the Achaemenids there was an efficient
infrastructure that facilitated the exchange of
commodities among the far reaches of the
empire. As a result of this commercial activity,
Persian words for typical items of trade became
prevalent throughout the Middle East and
eventually entered the English language;
examples are, bazaar, shawl, sash, turquoise,
tiara, orange, lemon, melon, peach, spinach, and
asparagus. Trade was one of the empire's main
sources of revenue, along with agriculture and
tribute. Other accomplishments of Darius's reign
included codification of a universal legal system
upon which much of later Iranian law would be
based. In its art and architecture, Persepolis
reflected Darius's perception of himself as the
leader of conglomerates of people to whom he
had given a new and single identity. The
Achaemenid art and architecture found there is
at once distinctive and also highly eclectic. The
Achaemenids took the art forms and the cultural
and religious traditions of many of the ancient
Middle Eastern peoples and combined them into
a single form. This Achaemenid artistic style is
evident in the iconography of Persepolis, which
celebrates the king and the office of the
monarch.
The image of this winged bull moving toward the
left comfortably fills the area of the tondo in
which he strides. It was created in repoussé, a
technique by which the metal-smith produces a
frontal relief design by working the back of the
object. In keeping with the decorative design
tenets of Achaemenid art in general the metal-
smith has relied upon a series of linear elements
that reinforce the circular design of his
composition. To that end, the horns of this
composite beast conform to the curved
perimeter of the plate’s edge, as do the re-
curved tips of his wings and the configuration of
the tail. Careful detailing of the bull’s muscles,
in
order to convey a sense of its strength and
power, enhances these accomplished decorative
effects. To that end, his head is tucked in close
to his chest with lowered horns poised to attack
and his right rear leg is depicted digging into the
ground in order to push off at the start of his
charge. The metal-smith has admirably captured
the feeling of the tail swishing back and forth in
anticipation of the encounter.
Our plate is an outstanding example of
Achaemenid decorative arts at its finest. It has
been meticulously crafted and is characterised by
considerable attention to form, precise detail and
an orderly composition enhanced by rhythmic
designs. The style evokes the justly famous
depictions of guardian beasts created in glazed
bricks that decorate the Persian palace at Susa
and are themselves the artistic successors of the
glazed tiles on the Ishtar Gate at Babylon. This
style continued to characterise the art of the
Persian Empire until its conquest in the late
fourth century BC by Alexander the Great. Such
plates appear to have been used by elite
members of the Persian court during the
sumptuous banquets for which they were famed.
References:
Lloyd, S. The Art of the Ancient Near East (New
York 1963). Pp. 241-256.
Amiet, P. The Art of the Ancient Near East (New
York 1980). Pp 252-258.
Keith, J.L. The Pomerance Collection of Ancient
Art (Brooklyn 1966). Pp 50-51. (See catalogue
number 58, for a stylistically similar plate in
silver, with additional bibliography).
- (X.0722)
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