bowl

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Object Type
Museum number: 135571
Description: Silver bowl: shallow with flared rim and 8 egg-shaped lobes in repousse; between each lobe on the underside is an applied cut-out applique of a rampant winged lion with the head and feather-crown of the Egyptian dwarf god Bes, shown full-face; rosettes flank the heads and form a circle around the base; rosette in centre of exterior; centre point in the interior; interior rim and exterior lightly corroded but remainder of interior is in very good condition; one lobe slightly torn.
Cultures/periods
Production date: 5thC BC-4thC BC
Materials
Technique
Dimensions: Diameter: 17.40 centimetres; Height: 2.50 centimetres; Weight: 300.50 grammes
Curator's comments: Research lab report 3rd September 1971. Height published by Moorey as 1.8 cm is incorrect and probably refers to measurement in inches.
Bibliographic references: Moorey P R S 1988a / The technique of gold-figure decoration on Achaemenid silver vessels and its antecedents (pp. 235-236, pl. IVa) (refers to silver cut-outs as gold); Curtis 1989a / Ancient Persia (pp. 48-49, fig. 58) (refers to silver cut-outs as gold); Abdi 1999a / Bes in the Achaemenid Empire (p.135, table 8.1); Simpson 2004b / 'Baubo' at Merv (pp.230-32) (discussion of Bes); Curtis & Tallis 2005 / Forgotten Empire: The world of Ancient Persia (cat. 101, p. 114); Collon 1995a / Ancient Near Eastern Art (fig. 148); Curtis 2000a / Ancient Persia (fig. 61)
Location: On display (G52/dc3)
Exhibition history: Exhibited: 2013 Dec- Marc CSMVS, Mumbai, 'Cyrus Cylinder' 2013 27 Sept-early Dec, Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, 'Cyrus Cylinder' 2013 9 Aug-20 Sept, San Francisco, Asian Arts Museum, 'Cyrus Cylinder' 2013 21 June-2 Aug, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 'Cyrus Cylinder' 2013 3 May-14 June, Houston, Museum of Fine Arts, 'Cyrus Cylinder' 2013 15 Mar-26 Apr, Washington, Freer Sackler Gallery, 'Cyrus Cylinder' 2006 7 Mar-11 Jun, Barcelona, Fundacion La Caixa, 'L'imperi Oblidat' 2005-2006 Sept-Jan, BM, 'Forgotten Empire' 1995-2005 17 Nov-Aug, BM, G52/IRAN/7/15 1994 16 Jun-23 Dec, BM, G49/IRAN/7/15
Condition: Several of the appliques are fragmentary or completely missing; interior rim and exterior lightly corroded but remainder of interior is in very good condition; one lobe slightly torn.
Subjects: mammal; ancient egyptian deity
Associated names
Acquisition name
Acquisition date: 1971
Acquisition notes: Part of a group of objects deposited on 14/7/70 (WAA deposit book entry 2568).
Department: Middle East
BM/Big number: 135571
Registration number: 1971,0515.1
Conservation: Treatment: 29 Nov 2004; Treatment: 20 May 1994

Free entry

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