Barsom or Staff? An Inscribed Urartian Plaque

Abstract

ACCORDING TO ANCIENT Zoroastrian practice, the Indo-Iranian priests traditionally held a of twigs or rods while solemnizing certain sacred ceremonies. Known originally as the baresman and later as the barsom, this bundle, which had at first consisted of a handful of grasses that were strewn during sacrificial rites, became a common priestly attribute. Numerous attempts have been made to identify representations of it in Iranian art beginning with the Achaemenid period, most notably in plaques and statuettes from the Oxus treasure (Figures i, 2).' In a recent study, Peter Calmeyer has tried to demonstrate that the sticklike objects carried by a pair of helmeted figures in the upper and lower registers of an Urartian bronze plaque in the Metropolitan Museum (Figure 3) are early depictions of barsom.2 Mary Boyce has in turn cited this identification as possible evidence for the spread of Zoroastrian cult practice in pre-Achaemenid times.3 In view of the importance of this assertion for the early history of Zoroastrianism, a reexamination of the Metropolitan Museum plaque is justified. In fact, a very different interpretation of the figures and the objects that they hold may be offered. The Zoroastrian texts clearly indicate that the barsom was carried by the priest during religious ceremonies. By contrast, the scene illustrated twice on the Metropolitan Museum plaque, depicting paired soldiers marching before a chariot with two helmeted occupants, is of a purely military nature. The chariot with its occupants-a driver and a passenger with hands extended in a gesture of greeting-is virtually identical to representations found on a number of decorated sheet-metal objects (belts, plaques, and helmets) of Urartian manufacture, all of which feature a military procession of chariots and horsemen.4 In none of these representations is there any suggestion of a religious connotation. The paired soldiers who precede the chariot carry in their upraised right hands a number of sticks notched or bound near the top. Although it is impossible to determine precisely how many sticks each figure was meant to hold, I would suggest that the bundle collectively represents two pairs of sticks