Heartshaped gold ornament

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Object Details

Label

Ten small loops on the back of this ornament allowed it to be sewn onto a garment. The naturalistic form of the two boars is modeled in high relief. Minute amounts of silver and copper color the nearly pure gold. A filling of pitch preserves the shape of the extremely thin gold sheet.

Provenance

Possibly excavated in Rudbar, Iran [1]

To 1961

K. Rabenou, New York, New York. [2]

From 1961

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from K. Rabenou, New York, New York. [3]

Notes:

[1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.

[2] Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.

[3] See note 2.

Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Exhibition History

Ancient Art of the Near East (November 21, 2009 to December 1, 2011)

Gold: The Asian Touch (September 10, 2005 to February 20, 2006)

Pre-Islamic Metalwork from the Near East (April 15, 1983 to April 4, 1984)

Art of the Near East (August 21, 1977 to December 14, 1979)

Near Eastern Art (June 15, 1973 to May 7, 1975)

2500 Years of Persian Art—Paintings, Metalwork (February 10, 1972 to June 15, 1973)

Near Eastern Art—Paintings, Metalwork (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)

Persian Art (January 1, 1963 to September 3, 1963)

Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967)

Special Exhibition of Persian Art (May 1, 1960 to August 11, 1961)

Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 6 and 7 (February 25, 1956 to April 10, 1962)

Previous custodian or owner

Khalil Rabenou (1906-1961)

Credit Line

Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

Date

2nd century BCE - 2nd century CE

Period

Parthian period

Accession Number

F1961.22

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Jewelry and Ornament

Medium

Gold

Dimensions

H x W x D (overall): 5.3 x 5 x 1 cm (2 1/16 x 1 15/16 x 3/8 in)

Origin

Iran

Related Online Resources

Google Arts & Culture

See more items in

National Museum of Asian Art

Data Source

National Museum of Asian Art

Topic

chasing

repoussé

metal

gold

boar

Parthian period (247 BCE - 224 CE)