Minneapolis Institute of Art

Beaker

Persia (Iran), Marlik region

Date

c. 800 BCE

Medium

Silver

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The people of Marlik were a nomadic Indo-European tribe that once inhabited northwestern Iran. They left little evidence of their culture except for small portable objects buried with their dead. This silver beaker is decorated with stylized ibexes (wild mountain goats) that display the sensitive rendering of animal forms characteristic of ancient near eastern art. The design is worked in repouseé, a technique in which the metal is hammered from the back to create raised designs on the surface. In spite of strong patternization, the artist has captured a sense of the animal's grace, agility, and naturalistic musculature. Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.