Handle and chapes

Object Details

• Label

  These fittings originally decorated the hilt and scabbard or sheath of a long sword probably made of iron, now missing. The handle is decorated with twisted wire and granulation to form a central braid surrounded by a scroll and vegetal pattern. These patterns are repeated on the metal trimming attached to the two P-shaped mounts. The lower shape is plain, with a rectangular tip.

  Swords were an important royal emblem in Sasanian Iran, prominently displayed along with other royal equipment such as the crown. Details of their forms were closely observed and reproduced in royal representations. Most Sasanian swords hung from a slide attached to the center of the scabbard or were attached to the belt by straps passing through loops on both sides. This example, together with a few other swords with gold or silver scabbards allegedly found in northwestern Iran, was suspended by means of the two P-shaped mounts along the scabbard. The P-shaped mounts were intended to keep the sword at an oblique angle, an important consideration for warriors on horseback. This form of sword suspension seems to have reached the Sasanians from the Central Asian Hephthalites, probably during the late fourth or early fifth century.

• Collection

  Arthur M. Sackler Collection

• Exhibition History

  Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World (April 6, 2022 to August 8, 2022)

  Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran (February 4, 2012 - ongoing)

  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)

• Origin

  Iran

• Credit Line

  Gift of Arthur M. Sackler

• Type

  Weapon and Armament

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  600s, 700s

• Topic

  Hammering, Gold, Art, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Sasanian period (ca. 224 - 651), Metal-work

• Culture

  Iranians, Middle Easterners

• Object Type

  Weapons, Armor (protective wear)