Sasanian Silver Research Articles

Dating of Three Sasanian Bowls from the National Museum of Iran

Three Sasanian Silver Bowls at the National Museum of Iran, known collectively as the “dancer-musician scenes,” have been considered as one of the museum’s most iconic works for the past 70 years. Only bowl No. 1 has been examined by numerous Western and Iranian scholars. Based on the catalog of the exhibition “7000 Years of Iranian Art Exhibition” in Vienna (2001-2002), these dishes have been tentatively dated to 8-9th centuries CE. All subsequent exhibitions have followed the same pattern. In addition, the dark heart-shaped decorations on two dishes have been called minā (enameling) in most of the previous publications. The importance of these three bowls (and also the famous Sasanian silver cup) has been the main reason for their selection for technical analysis, X-Ray fluorescence (XRF), and spectroscopy. However, a well-known Sasanian cup (called also “a silver musician-dancer” piece) was only subjected to a semi-quantitative investigation using XRF analysis. The XRF has been extremely helpful in determining a more exact dating for the three bowls indicated above, but it has also raised serious concerns about the dark heartshaped embellishments. Moreover, the dating of the artifacts has been called into doubt by an XRF study of Arabo-Sasanian coins (early Islamic periods) and a comparison of the metal compounds of these objects with those of the three dishes. Additionally, the authors of the present article have proposed niello for the dark ornamentation on the bowls based on these two technical evaluations. Indeed, spectroscopy was not able to answer the main question about the heart-shaped decorations on bowls No. 1 & No. 2, but it has opened a new venue to challenge the term minā, which was widely used in printed works. However, these two chemical analyses expose the possibility that the items may have been created in a workshop of the same artist (or a group of artists).

Marco Aimone, The Wyvern Collection. Byzantine and Sasanian Silver, Enamels and Works of Art. With contributions by Erica Cruickshank Dodd, Rika Gyselen, Peter Northoven, and Jack Ogden. London / New York: Thames & Hudson, 2020.

Marco Aimone, <i>The Wyvern Collection. Byzantine and Sasanian Silver, Enamels and Works of Art</i>. With contributions by Erica Cruickshank Dodd, Rika Gyselen, Peter Northoven, and Jack Ogden. London / New York: Thames &amp; Hudson, 2020.

The Triquetras from the Filippovka Kurgans, Southern Urals

The triquetra sign is comparatively rare in early nomadic cultures. It occurs mostly in the steppe area east of the southern Urals, specifically on petroglyphs, metal details on horse harness, bronze mirrors, metal plaques, and felted items. This article describes a series of triquetra signs from kurgans 1 and 4 at Filippovka I, representing the culture of the early nomadic elite of the southern Urals. The burials in which they were found have a “royal” status. Finds include gold onlays of wooden vessels in triquetra shapes, 20 gold argali figurines, and a horse-shaped handle of a vessel. The thighs of animals are marked with triquetras. Of particular interest is an iron sword with a gold-inlaid blade, showing scenes with humans and animals. The triquetra ornament occurs thrice in these inlays. Analysis suggests that the scenes are from Iranian mythology, and that the triquetra marks the *Hvarnah (farn). Similar scenes are found on Sasanian silver dishes, featuring Iranian kings who receive *Hvarnah. The fact that triquetra signs in Filippovka I occur only in “royal” kurgans, and that all of them are made of gold or mark the items made of gold indicates their connection with the symbolism, the use of which was the prerogative of the topranking nomadic elite of the southern Urals.

Scene of Fighting Tigers on a Sasanian Plate from Mes ‘Aynak. Notes on the Composition

The article discusses, from formal perspective, the mounted hunting scene on the Kushano-Sasanian silver plate found in Mes Aynak in Afghanistan. The scene represents the model related to other Sasanian silverware, however with significant variances. When compared the scene to other models defined by Author, conclusion is made that except for several “canonical” layouts, Sasanian toreuts, allowed themselves a dose of freedom in combining them. This phenomenon seems to be related to peripheries of the Sasanian Empire and model of a sword-wielding rider in combat with large felines while holding an object in outstretched left hand was defined as originating from Kushanshahr and combining Assyrian and Achaemenid formulae of men killing beasts with mounted archer/lancer layouts popular in Sasanian silver.

Human Flight on a Fabulous Superbird. Uplifting Images Between Sicily and Khurasan (part ii.)

In a pair of apotheosis scenes painted in the wooden Islamic ceiling of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo (1130 -1154), human figures are carried aloft by giant birds. Previous interpretations of these paintings range from Alexander's ascension or Ganymed's abduction, to Buddhist myths, to the Sasanian scenes illustrated in the Hermitage's famous Sasanian silver dish. This essay contends, instead, that the Palatina's flying birds conveying humans are to be identified as the fabulous avians of Islamic lore - either the Arabic ʿanqāʾ, the Persian sīmurgh, or the Turkic ḳarā-ḳuş/ṭughril. Anecdotes and tales about such super-birds' extraordinary powers, including their ability to fly humans, abound in Islamic, Turkic, and Persianate cultures, including Zāl's nurturing by the sīmurgh in the Iranian Shāhnāma, the black eagle transporting the hero in the Central Asian epic of Er-Töshtük, and Arabic sailors' tales-of-rescue by giant birds. The iconography of the Palatina apotheosis scenes - showing the hero tied by a rope to the super-bird - is traceable to tenth- to twelfth-century Iranian art, especially metalwork and textiles from Khurasan. The horned ears and double heads and/or prey of the Palatina birds (and in analogous Iranian scenes) derive from Iranian and Central Asian or Turkic traditions, connoting these legendary predators' might and cosmic mastery. Notions and images of apothesios were associated with the ruler in totemic signification and pictorial emblematization, as the fabulous super-birds depicted in the Palatina ceiling transport the princely couple to a symbolic heaven.

Metallurgical study on some Sasanian silver coins in Sistan Museum

Elemental analyses and microstructural studies of historical metal artifacts provide researchers with invaluable and priceless information about metal extraction technology and the procedure of creating artifacts. In addition, the information is helpful for knowing about the metallurgical processes of the artifacts. This study was conducted by a microscopic examination and elemental analyses of seven Sasanian silver coins preserved in the Sistan Anthropology Museum, Iran. For the purpose of this study, three methods were employed: first, the proton induced X-ray emission microanalysis (micro-PIXE), to determine the main and trace elements of the coins; second, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), to perform elemental analysis to identify impurities of the metal; and third, microstructural analysis of the coins which was carried out with an optical microscope (OM). The elemental analyses identified Ca, Cu, Ag, Au, and Pb in the coins. The high quantity of Ag in samples validated the application of advanced and accurate cupellation technology for refining silver and separating impurities from raw ore. The gold concentration in the coins indicated the use of non-galena ore for silver extraction. Additionally, the microstructural analyses of samples pointed to the application of thermo-mechanical processes on coins.

Human Flight on a Fabulous Superbird. Uplifting Images between Sicily and Khurasan

Painted on the great Islamic ceiling of Palermo’s Cappella Palatina (1140s) is a pair of apotheosis scenes – two human figures carried in flight by giant birds. Interpretations of these paintings have ranged from Alexander’s Ascension, to Ganymed’s Abduction, to Sasanian and Buddhist myths illustrated in the famous Sasanian silver dish in the Hermitage. This paper argues, instead, that the Palatina’s birds flying humans are to be identified with the fabulous avian figures of Islamic lore, either the Arabic ʿAnqāʾ, the Persian Sīmurgh, or the Turkic Tughril. Tales about such superbirds, their extraordinary powers, and their transporting humans abound in Islamic, Turkic, and Persianate cultures. Among these are Zāl’s nurturing by the Sīmurgh in the Iranian Shāhnāma, the black eagle transporting the hero in the Central Asian oral epic of Er-Töshtük, and Arabic tales of sailors rescued at sea by giant birds. The distinctive iconography of the Palatina apotheosis scenes – the humans secured with ropes to the superbirds – is traceable to Iranian art of the tenth to the twelfth centuries, especially to metalwork and textiles from Khurasan (eastern Iran). The horned ears and double heads and/or prey of the Palatina birds and analogous Iranian scenes hail from medieval Islamic and Central-Asian or Turkic traditions connoting these fantastic beasts’ cosmic potency. The well-documented travels of learned men, traders, and pilgrims in the area of Sicily, Iran, and Khurasan account for the transmission of this kind of imagery. The Cappella Palatina superbirds convey the princely couple to the symbolic heaven of the starry ceiling.

The mystery of mercury-layers on ancient coins — A multianalytical study on the Sasanian coins under the Reign of Khusro II

40 Sasanian silver coins of the emperor Khusro II (591–628) belonging to the Coin Collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (KHM) as well as 188 coins of the same emperor acquired at the free coin market were analyzed using micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis (μ-XRF) in the course of the research project “Sylloge Nummorum Sasanidarum”. These studies revealed the presence of mercury in the XRF spectra of a bigger part of the coins. First investigations with complementary techniques showed that the mercury is present as a surface layer. Therefore, further detailed studies were performed on polished sections using the Particle Induced X-ray Emission technique with a proton microprobe (μ-PIXE) that offers quantitative and spatially resolved elemental information with micron resolution, scanning micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) analyses for a better understanding of the elemental distribution on the surface and polished sections of the coins and finally confocal micro-XRF (3D μ-XRF or CMXRF) analyses for revealing information on the surface layering and elemental in-depth distribution. The synergistic application of these methods offered detailed and improved information on the structure of the mercury-layer on the surface of the silver coins supporting assumptions dating back to 1976/78 indicating medical treatments using Hg as basis for this phenomenon.

A Gold Ring from Afghanistan Set with a Garnet Intaglio

An unusual gold ring from Afghanistan, set with a garnet intaglio, is now in the al-Sabah Museum collection, Kuwait (inv. no. LNS 4598 J). This ring illustrates how in the early centuries CE iconographic elements from both the East and the West were combined and adapted in Afghanistan to suit local religious beliefs. The iconography of both the gold ring-setting and the garnet intaglio is based on classical prototypes. The eagle and child motif on the gold ring is close to classical versions of Ganymede and the eagle; and the standing female figure on the intaglio is clearly a fertility goddess derived from images of Aphrodite, who is often accompanied by a small Eros or putto. Neither the female deity nor the half-figure on the intaglio can be identified with any certainty, but parallels can be drawn between them and other figures on a number of Classical and Sasanian intaglios, coins, and silver objects.

A Study of Sasanian Silver Coins Employing the XRF Technique

A Study of Sasanian Silver Coins Employing the XRF Technique

D. Akbarzadeh, T. Daryaee, J. A. Lerner. « Two Recently Discovered Inscribed Sasanian Silver Bowls ». Bulletin of the Asia Institute, 15, 2001 (2005), pp. 71-75, 2 fig.

Parmi les huit vases en argent du petit tresor de Quri Qaleh, decouvert en 1997 sur la route Paveh-Kermanshah, deux de forme elliptique portent une tres courte inscription. Sur l’un, decore d’une grue, ‘farroxih’ et ‘abzon’, termes bien connus aussi dans la numismatique ; l’autre, decore d’une pintade, mentionne « plein de graisse ». Ces objets, peut-etre cultuels, sont surtout une production d’une elite modeste, sans comparaison avec les grands plats et aiguieres sassanides de la table royale.

R. Takeuchi. « The Parthian Shot in Hunting Scenes ». Silk Road Art and Archaeology, 10, 2004, pp. 29-48.

Many scholars have argued that the “Parthian shot” in hunting scenes represents a moment of actual hunting. In this contribution this particular iconography is reconsidered from the point of view of the technique of representation. According to a new interpretation of the scenes in a two-dimensional space (here, in particular, a few Sasanian silver plates are considered), the so-called “Parthian shot” image “merges two parts viewed from different angles on the same space”: it is a way of repr...

サーサーン式銀貨につけられた「擦痕」は何か?

This article discusses the meaning of the “score mark” left on the Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian silver coins discovered in 1959 at Wuqia in the Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region of northwest China.The Wuqia hoard was studied by Chinese and Japanese researchers, including the present author, and the results were published in 2003. The hoard consists of 918 Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian silver drachms with dates between A. D. 588 and 679.During our study of those coins, a number of discoveries were made. One of them was the presence of “score marks” in the margin of 84 coins. By comparing the “score marks” with other characteristics of the coins, the mark was determined to be related to the “countermark”. A “countermark” is a stamp or mark impressed on a coin to verify its use by another government, or to indicate revaluation. Similar sets of “score marks” and “countermarks” also appear on other Sasanian silver coins stored in private and public collections.Thus, the author concludes that the “score mark” was probably used to test the quality of the silver before striking a specific “countermark”.

The Persian Gulf in Late Antiquity

The following article discusses the importance of the province of Fars/Persis as an important province and the Persian Gulf as an important entrep�t. The essay seeks to demonstrate that because of the Perso-Byzantine rivalry the amount of trade on the silk roads was reduced and consequently the amount of sea trade via the Persian Gulf was increased by the fifth and sixth centuries C.E. The campaign for controlling trade in silk and spices was taken to the seas, and Persian colonies were established as far away as Sri Lanka. Administrative seals and Sasanian silver coins also indicated a lively exchange of commodities and the presence of Persians in East Asia.

P. O. Harper. « Sasanian Silver Vessels: The Formation and Study of Early Museum Collections », in : J. Curtis, ed., Mesopotamia and Iran in the Parthian and Sasanian Periods: Rejection and Revival c. 238 BC – AD 642. London, British Museum Press, pp. 46-56, pl. 17-28, pl. coul. IX-X.

Utile inventaire des vases en argent sassanides qui montrent bien le faible pourcentage de ceux qui proviennent de fouilles par rapport aux exemplaires sans provenance sure que possedent les grands musees du monde.

Neutron Activation Analysis of Microgram Samples of Sasanian Coins and Metallic Art

Neutron activation analysis of microgram metal-rubbing samples from over 2,000 Sasanian (Persia: 224-651 AD) silver coins and a few hundred art objects allow grouping the data in terms of the gold-impurity levels. About 1,000 of the silver coins were from the reign of Khusrau ∥ (591-628 AD) and represent various mints and dates. For the early coins, mg gold/100 silver values of less than 0.3 are associated with relatively modern fakes. The authentic coins and authentic silver Sasanian art almost always have values in the range of 0.3-1.0. Questionable ‘Sasanian’ art objects in private collections usually have goldimpurity levels of less than 0.3.

Sasanian Silver: Late Antique and Early Mediaeval Arts of Luxury from Iran

Sasanian Silver: Late Antique and Early Mediaeval Arts of Luxury from Iran

Middle Persian Inscriptions on Sasanian Silverware

SASANIAN SILVER OBJECTS challenge the art historian to explain and relate questions of materials, techniques, styles, and motifs within an often illusive historical frame. To the social historian, these vessels provide an expression of the culture of the Iranian feudal aristocracy with its dynastic ideology. The epigrapher and philologist, in his turn, is challenged by the inscriptions sometimes found on the silverware. As examples of these have accumulated and been compared, their interpretation has progressed. Y. I. Smirnov gave careful facsimiles of inscriptions on the vessels he published; and E. Herzfeld notably advanced their reading. More recently, V. A. Livshits and V. G. Lukonin have presented revised readings of these; and R. N. Frye has published a further reinterpretation, along with some new examples. W. B. Henning's revisions and his analyses of newly found inscriptions formed a crucial contribution.2 The assembling of these and additional examples helps to clarify the entire corpus. The existing body of inscriptions divides into three chronological groups: A, about 300 A.D.; B, about 500-695; C, about 700 and after. The chronology of the inscriptions may, perhaps, not be identical with that of their vessels. The owner's name and/or the object's weight may occasionally be a later addition to an older vessel. R. N. Frye has suggested that such inscriptions could indicate registration of the vessel for taxation;3 Kawad I's latter reign (499-531) or the periods ofXusrau I and II (531-579, 591-628) would be likely times for such a registration. Group B inscriptions ar in harmony with the orthography of the late sixth-century papyri and of the late Sasanian inscriptions. They are distinguished from Group A by paleography and from Group C by the difference in weight standard. The internal sequence of Group B inscriptions may eventually be better established by a more refin paleographic analysis.

Determination of major components and trace elements in ancient silver by thermal neutron activation analysis

Thermal neutron activation of minute samples of ancient silver objects has provided useful information concerning their silver, copper and gold content. The results of such analysis of eighteen Sasanian silver objects are discussed together with consideration of the sampling problems involved. In order to extend these measurements to include other elements, an isotopic exchange system has been developed to separate other activities present in irradiated silver specimens quantitatively from the silver, copper and gold activities. Following exchange with cuprous and silver iodides it has been possible to count quantitatively the activity of fourteen additional elements: As, Br, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Ir, K, Mn, Na, Sb, Sc, Se and Zn.

Sasanian Numbers and Silver Weights

Over a number of years inscriptions on Sasanian silver plates have been published by various scholars, but in spite of progress several problems have remained, especially one connected with the weight system of pre-Islamic Iran. The interpretation of one series of signs had baffled me, as it had other investigators in the field, and I had proposed at first tentatively to read the signs as MP salāk “ingot”, but with a technical meaning of a weight equal to about 215 grams.