Object Details
Description
Plate with low ring foot. Exterior plain. Weight: 441.4 gm.
Interior, engraved and spot-gilded design of royal figure on horseback, moving to right, hunting with bow and arrow two ibexes; one ibex to right of horse, the other below horse. Stylized landscape element below horse.
The hunter's headdress consists of a mural crown with front crescent, topped by a globe, an arrangement that does not correspond to any crowns depicted on Sasanian coins. A similar headdress, but lacking the front crescent, is shown on the coins of several kings of the late Sasanian period: Peroz (459-484), Kavad (488-531), Khosro I (531-579), Hormizd (279-590), Bahram VI (590-591), Khosro II (591-628), and Kavad II (628).
Provenance
?-1972
Farhadi and Anavian Co., New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]
1972-1987
Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), method of acquisition unknown [2]
From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [3]
Notes:
[1] See object file for copy of Sackler collection inventory sheet for object 72.9.6/S-258. The inventory sheet indicates this object was acquired from the dealers Farhadi and Anavian Co.: "Dealer’s Number: Farhadi and Anavian 25.”
Farhadi and Anavian Co. was a New York City art and antiquities gallery founded in the early 1960s by dealers Nourollah “Nuri” Farhadi (1903-1994) and Habib Anavian (1915-1995). By 1976, the partners had engaged in a legal dispute, which may have marked the end of Farhadi and Anavian Co.
[2] The Sackler collection number, 72.9.6, indicates the object was acquired by 1972.
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.
[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.
Research updated November 16, 2023
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History
Art in Iran and Europe in the 17th Century: Exchange and Reception (September 28, 2013 to January 12, 2014)
Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran (February 4, 2012 - ongoing)
The Shahnama: 1000 Years of the Persian Book of Kings (October 23, 2010 to April 17, 2011)
Luxury Arts of the Silk Route Empires (May 9, 1993 to January 28, 2007)
Nomads and Nobility: Art from the Ancient Near East (September 28, 1987 to November 1, 1992)
Previous custodian or owner
Farhadi and Anavian Co. (active early 1960s-1973)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)
Credit Line
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Date
600-800
Period
Sasanian period
Accession Number
S1987.109
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Vessel
Medium
Silver and gold
Dimensions
H x Diam (overall): 4.2 x 20.7 cm (1 5/8 x 8 1/8 in)
Origin
Iran
On View
East Building (Arthur M. Sackler Gallery), Gallery 21: Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
gilding
chasing
hammering
metal
silver
landscape
hunting
ibex
horse
Sasanian period (ca. 224 - 651)
Iran
Ancient Near Eastern Art
equestrian
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_S1987.109