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Catalog Data

Medium:
Silver and gilt
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 1.3 x 12.4 x 12.4 cm (1/2 x 4 7/8 x 4 7/8 in)
Type:
Vessel
Origin:
Iran
Date:
6th-7th century
Period:
Sasanian period
Description:
This hollow circular lid preserves one of the original rivets or pins for the four perforations spaced evenly around the lid circumference at slightly varying distances from the edge. The inner surface is plain, with much green corrosion. The exterior surface of this hollow roundel, including the sides, is entirely gilded; on the upper surface is carved decoration in low relief. A central medallion with rope-like border encircles a duck facing right. Above and below the medallion extend vines inhabited by birds; to the sides are two animals, a hunting dog and a jackal, eating bunches of grapes.
Label:
Vine scrolls and trees inhabited by birds and animals decorate this luxury object, which was probably made in Iran during the Sasanian period (ca. 224–651). Such motifs are shared by European, Chinese, and Central Asian art of the first millennium. The complex but orderly and balanced arrangement of the ornament is characteristic of Sasanian art.
Provenance:
?-1972
Farhadi and Anavian Co., New York, method of acquisition unknown [1]
1972-1987
Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987), method of acquisition unknown [2]
From 1987
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Arthur M. Sackler [3]
Notes:
[1] See object file for copy of Sackler collection inventory sheet for object 72.9.4/S-262. The inventory sheet indicates this object was acquired from the dealers Farhadi and/or Anavian Co.: "Dealer’s Number: Farhadi and Anavian 29.”
Farhadi and Anavian Co. was a New York City art and antiquities gallery founded in the early 1960s by dealers Nourollah “Nuri” Farhadi (1903-1994) and Habib Anavian (1915-1995). By 1976, the partners had engaged in a legal dispute, which may have marked the end of Farhadi and Anavian Co.
[2] See Prudence Oliver Harper, “The Royal Hunter: Art of the Sasanian Empire” [exhibition catalog] (New York: The Asia Society, Inc., Winter 1978), p. 62; cat. 19. The object was attributed to The Arthur M. Sackler Collections. The Sackler collection number, 72.9.4, indicates the object was acquired by 1972.
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler was a physician, medical publisher, pharmaceutical marketer, and collector of Asian art.
[3] Pursuant to the agreement between Arthur M. Sackler and the Smithsonian Institution, dated July 28, 1982, legal title of the donated objects was transferred to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on September 11, 1987.
Research updated November 16, 2023
Collection:
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Exhibition History:
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)
The Royal Hunter: Art of the Sasanian Empire (Winter 1978)
Previous custodian or owner:
Farhadi and Anavian Co. (active early 1960s-1973)
Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (1913-1987)
Topic:
riveting  Search this
gilding  Search this
chasing  Search this
hammering  Search this
carving  Search this
inlay (process)  Search this
metal  Search this
silver  Search this
duck  Search this
dog  Search this
Sasanian period (ca. 224 - 651)  Search this
Iran  Search this
Ancient Near Eastern Art  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Accession Number:
S1987.107
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
On View:
Sackler Gallery 21: Feast Your Eyes: A Taste for Luxury in Ancient Iran
Related Online Resources:
Google Cultural Institute
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye395615037-e754-48cb-af5a-6920985f5f62
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_S1987.107