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At A Glance

On View
  • Period

    5th-7th century
  • Geography

    Iran
  • Material

    Silver and gilt
  • Dimension

    H x Diam (overall): 4.5 × 22.1 cm (1 3/4 × 8 11/16 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1964.10
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1964.10

Object Details

  • Description

    Bowl, shallow, silver on low ring foot, with a Bacchanalian triumphal scene in flat relief against a gilded background. Chased, engraved, and gilded.
  • Label

    This complex scene, which decorates the interior of a shallow plate, testifies to the lively cultural interaction that took place between the eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia in the first millennium. In the center, the Greek god Dionysos (depicted here with female-like breasts) sits nexts to the princess Ariadne; to the right stands the hero Herakles. The plate depicts the triumphal arrival of the Greek god Dionysos in India. A popular subject of Roman imperial art, it was later depicted over a wide area of the Byzantine Empire in textiles, gemstones, and metalwork, and transferred through such portable media to neighboring Sasanian Iran.
  • Provenance

    To 1964
    Mahboubian Gallery of Ancient Art, Tehran, Iran and New York. [1]
    From 1964
    Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Mahboubian Gallery of Ancient Art, Tehran, Iran and New York. [2]
    Notes:
    [1] Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file after 1920, Collections Management Office.
    [2] See note 1.
  • Collection

    Freer Gallery of Art Collection
  • Exhibition History

    Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran (February 4, 2012 - ongoing)
    Ancient Art of the Near East (November 21, 2009 to December 1, 2011)
    Luxury Arts of the Silk Route Empires (May 9, 1993 to January 28, 2007)
    Ancient Near Eastern Metalware (December 18, 1984 to February 24, 1986)
    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)
    Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967)
  • Previous custodian or owner

    Mahboubian Gallery of Ancient Art
  • Origin

    Iran
  • Credit Line

    Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
  • Type

    Vessel
  • On View

    Sackler Gallery 21: Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran
  • Restrictions and Rights

    Usage Conditions Apply

    There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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