Heartshaped gold ornament

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)

• Origin

  Iran

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s, 100s

• Name

  Rabenou, Khalil

• Topic

  Repoussé, Gold, Boar, Parthian period (247 BCE - 224 CE), Art, Wirework, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Chasing, Metal-work

• Culture

  Iranians, Middle Easterners

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry