Garment pin

Pin with plain shank. The head is cast as a prolongation of the shank, though separated from it by a single ridge. The pinhead is rendered as the head of an antelope with extended neck, prominent eyes, long, straight ears, and arched horns springing from behind the eyes and ears to rejoin the shank at the neck.

Historical period(s)
Iron Age I - II, ca. 1000-600 BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W x D: 14.5 x 1.3 x 1.1 cm (5 11/16 x 1/2 x 7/16 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Gift of The Duncan M. Whittome Revocable Trust in memory of Ambassador and Mrs. James S. Moose, Jr.
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S1995.109
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Jewelry and Ornament, Metalwork
Type

Jewelry

Keywords
Iran, Iron Age I (ca. 1450 - 1250 BCE), Iron Age II (ca. 1250 - 800 BCE)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Pin with plain shank. The head is cast as a prolongation of the shank, though separated from it by a single ridge. The pinhead is rendered as the head of an antelope with extended neck, prominent eyes, long, straight ears, and arched horns springing from behind the eyes and ears to rejoin the shank at the neck.

Label

Bronze pins with decorated heads were popular personal ornaments in the ancient Near East, used by both men and women to fasten their garments.  Many pins of this type, often decorated with animal figures, have been recovered from cemeteries in western Iran dating from the second and early first millennia B.C.E.

Collection Area(s)
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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