Bronze horse-bit with decorated cheek-pieces
Early Iron Age, about 10th-7th centuries BC
From Luristan, western Iran
The region of Luristan in western Iran saw a rich tradition of
bronze production in the early part of the first millennium BC.
Virtually all the bronzes that have survived come from plundered
cemeteries of stone-built graves in the region. These mostly date
from between about 1000 and 700 BC. At a number of sites, bronzes
were also deposited in shrines.
The bronzes were cast in a variety of forms using the lost-wax
process. While each object is unique they are related in style and
decoration to a range of objects widely distributed in west
Iran.
The bronze workers of Luristan excelled in producing horse
decoration, perhaps not surprisingly in view of the fact that, as
Assyrian reliefs make clear, cavalry was rapidly replacing
chariotry as the main mobile force in most Near Eastern armies.
Throughout the Late Assyrian period (about 1000-612 BC) many horses
for the Assyrian armies came from the plains of western Iran.
A variety of cheek-pieces decorated Luristan horse-bits, and the
composite creatures decorating this example are very characteristic
of the region. In graves they were often placed under the dead
person's head. Signs of wear on many of the bits suggest that they
were actually used, if only as parade harness, and were not just
offerings specially made for the grave.
P.R.S. Moorey, Ancient bronzes from Luristan (London, The British Museum Press, 1974)
J. Curtis, Ancient Persia (London, The British Museum Press, 1990)