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the journal of the asian arts society

of australia

ancient iran

TAASA Review

3 Editorial

TobinHartnellandJosefaGreen

4 ChEshmEhaliWarE:aPaintEdCEramiCtraditioninthE iranianCEntralPlatEau

EdnaWong

7 ElamitEart

JavierÁlvarez-Món

10 thEKazaKly-yatKanWallPaintings:nEWPErsPECtivEsonthEartofthEanCiEntiranianWorld

FionaKidd

12 PErsEPolis inthEWEstErnimagination

TobinHartnell

15 lovEthynEighbour:thEintimatEartofdiPlomaCyinPErsEPolisProCEssionalsCulPturEs

StephanieReed

18 sasanianroCKrEliEfPanEls

AliAsadi

21 inthEPubliCdomain: A PERSiAN ShAhNAMA FOLiO FROM ThE NGV

SusanScollay

22 silKsofsasanianPErsia

HeleanorFeltham

24 booKrEviEW:PARAdiSE LOST. PERSiA FROM ABOVE

JohnTidmarsh

25 ExhibitionPrEviEW:BEAUTy ANd BETRAyAL: ANciENT JEwELLERy AT ThE NichOLSON

ElizabethBollenandTobinHartnell

26 travEllEr’stalE:cARPET MUSEUM OF iRAN

HelenHolmesandRosHunyor

27 nEWlEadErshiPfortaasa

29 rECEnttaasaaCtivitiEs

29 taasamEmbErs’diary

30 What’son:SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER 2010

CompiledbyTinaBurge

C o n t E n t s

Volume 19 No. 3 September 2010

taasarEviEW

THEASIANARTSSOCIETYOFAUSTRALIAINC.ABN64093697537•Vol.19No.3,September2010ISSN1037.6674Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. NBQ 4134

Editorial•email:editorial@taasa.org.au

Generaleditor,JosefaGreenPubliCationsCommittEE

JosefaGreen(convenor)•TinaBurgeMelanieEastburn•SandraForbes•AnnMacArthurJimMasselos•AnnProctor•SusanScollaySabrinaSnow•ChristinaSumner

dEsign/layout

IngoVoss,VossDesign

Printing

JohnFisherPrinting

Published by The Asian Arts Society of Australia inc. PO Box 996 Potts Point NSw 2011 www.taasa.org.au

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TAASA Review is published quarterly and is distributed to members

of The Asian Arts Society of Australia inc. TAASA Review welcomes

submissions of articles, notes and reviews on Asian visual and

performing arts. All articles are refereed. Additional copies and

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afull indExofartiClEsPublishEd inTAASA Review sinCE itsbEginnings

in1991 isavailablEonthEtaasaWEbsitE,WWW.taasa.org.au

mEdiannoblEsaPProaChthEKing, PERSEPOLiS, 5Th cENTURy BcE.

PhOTO: KOUROSh MOhAMMAd KhANi.

E d i t o r i a l : A N c i E N T i R A N

Tobin Hartnell, Guest Editor gillgrEEn•PRESidENTArthistorianspecialisinginCambodianculture

ChristinasumnEr•VicE PRESidENT

PrincipalCurator,DesignandSociety,PowerhouseMuseum,Sydney

annguild•TREASURER

FormerDirectoroftheEmbroidersGuild(UK)

KatEJohnston•SEcRETARy

IntellectualpropertylawyerwithaninterestinAsiantextiles

hWEi-fE’nChEah

Lecturer,ArtHistory,AustralianNationalUniversity,withaninterestinneedlework

JoCElynChEy

VisitingProfessor,DepartmentofChineseStudies,UniversityofSydney;formerdiplomat

mattCox

StudyRoomCo-ordinator,ArtGalleryofNewSouthWales,withaparticularinterestinIslamicArtofSoutheastAsia

PhiliPCourtEnay

FormerProfessorandRectoroftheCairnsCampus,JamesCookUniversity,withaspecialinterestinSoutheastAsianceramics

luCiEfolan

AssistantCurator,AsianArt,NationalGalleryofAustralia

sandraforbEs

Editorialconsultantwithlong-standinginterestinSouthandSoutheastAsianart

JosEfagrEEn

GeneraleditorofTAASA Review.CollectorofChineseceramics,withlong-standinginterestinEastAsianartasstudentandtraveller

gEraldinEhardman

CollectorofChinesefurnitureandBurmeselacquerware

min-JungKim

CuratorofAsianArts&DesignatthePowerhouseMuseum

annProCtor

ArthistorianwithaparticularinterestinVietnam

sabrinasnoW

HasalongassociationwiththeArtGalleryofNewSouthWalesandaparticularinterestintheartsofChina

hon.auditor

RosenfeldKantandCo

s t a t E r E P r E s E n t a t i v E s

AUSTRALIANCAPITALTERRITORY

robynmaxWEll

VisitingFellowinArtHistory,ANU;SeniorCuratorofAsianArt,NationalGalleryofAustralia

NORTHERNTERRITORY

JoannabarrKman

CuratorofSoutheastAsianArtandMaterialCulture,MuseumandArtGalleryoftheNorthernTerritory

QUEENSLAND

russEllstorEr

CuratorialManager,AsianandPacificArt,QueenslandArtGallery

SOUTHAUSTRALIA

JamEsbEnnEtt

CuratorofAsianArt,ArtGalleryofSouthAustralia

VICTORIA

CarolCains

CuratorAsianArt,NationalGalleryofVictoriaInternational

3

t a a s a C o m m i t t E E

This focus issue of the TAASA Review onAncient Iran demonstrates that Australia iscurrently one of the leading contributorsto the study of ancient Iranian Art andArchaeology.

EdnaWongrecentlygraduated fromSydneyUniversity in Archaeology. Her piece onCheshmeh Ali ceramics investigates someof Iran’s earliest art. Recent research revealsthe sophisticated techniques and emergingthemes of these Iranian ceramics from some7000 years ago, which influenced westernIranianartformillennia.

Javier Álvarez-Món originally graduatedfromBerkeley and nowworks as a lectureronancient Iranianart at SydneyUniversity.HispiececoverstheevolutionofElamiteArt,oneofIran’soldestcivilizations.

After considering the earliest art traditions inIran,followingarticlesreviewtheroleofPersia(modern Fars, southern Iran) in the Iranianworld. Two pieces dealwith Persepolis, a sitethatstillembodiesromanticideasofPersiaeven2300yearsafter itsdestruction.Myownpiece,Persepolis in the Western Imagination, considershowthemeaningofPersepolischangedastheWest becamemore engaged in Iranian affairs.Stephanie Reed explores how the Persepolisreliefs stand apart from other decorativeprograms of Ancient Near Eastern states byfocusingoncommunalaspects,ratherthanwar.

Fiona Kidd works with Sydney University’sChorasmia project (the lower Oxus region).Her piece covers the newly excavated wallpaintings of Kazakly-yatkan in the easternChorasmianoasis.Throughthiswork,CentralAsian artists emerge as a new force in thewiderIranianartworld.

Ali Asadi, an Iranian archaeologist working atPersepolis, covers the last stage of pre-IslamicArt-theSasanianperiod(224-654CE).Hisarticlerecords how the Sasanian kings chose a verytraditionalartform,rockreliefs,asanimportantpartoftheartisticrepertoireofthetime.

The Sasanian world existed at the centreof the Silk Road, a link betweenChina andEurope.HeleanorFelthamconsiderstheroleof the Sasanian court, not just in silk textileproduction but in defining Western andChinesetextilestylesforcenturiestocome.

Fromarchaeologyandarthistory, the focusshifts to museum collections. Susan Scollayconsiders the significance of the Shahnama(theBookofKings),ontheoccasionofitsonethousandth anniversary, while examining afoliofromtheShahnamaheldintheNationalGalleryofVictoria.ElizabethBollen,assistant

curator at the Nicholson Museum, reviewsits new jewellery exhibition which, whilefocused on the classical culture of Greeceand Rome, also displays some importantexamples of Persian and Persian-inspiredjewelleryforthefirsttimeinSydney.

JohnTidmarshreviewsanostalgicbookaboutIraniancultureand landscapes.Usingaerialphotography,Paradise Lost: Persia from Abovecaptures amoment in time in Iran’s historythat is rapidlydisappearing asmodern Iranindustrialises.

The journal finishes with a Traveller’s TaleitemabouttheCarpetMuseumofTehran.RosHunyorandHelenHolmesfirstexaminedtheextraordinarycarpetsdisplayedinthemuseumand then travelled around Iran to experiencethediverseculturesthatproducedthem.

The range of topics covered by the articlesinthisissuestartstocapturethevitalityandexperimentationofartistsinancientIran.Theculturalinfluenceoftheseancientworksarestillwithus,asIraniansandforeignersalikelook to Iran’s artistic heritage to experiencetheenduringideasofitslayeredpast.

This special issue required the generosityof many professionals. Thank you to thegenerosity of the contributors, photographerKoroush Mohammad Khani, the OrientalInstitute(Chicago),UniversityofPennsylvania,UniversityofAkron,UniversityofTasmaniaandSydneyforyourhelp.

Thisisaspecialissueinthatitannouncesthe resignationofour currentPresident,Judith Rutherford. On page 27, weprovide a brief outline of Judith’sachievements and I’m sure I speak forall members in thanking Judith for heroutstandingcontributiontoTAASAoverthe years and hoping that we will stillfindheratallourfuturefunctions.

At the same time, this issue ishappy toannouncetheunanimouselectionofGillGreenasournewPresidentandChristinaSumner as our newVice President.Gillwill become just the 4th President sinceTAASA’s foundation in October 1991.WhileJudithtookoverthereignsin2001(fromJackieMenzies)whenTAASAwas10 years old, ournew leadership comesjustoneyearbeforeour20thanniversary.We can look forward to many moreyears of TAASA continuing itswork ofpromotingAsianartsinAustralia.

Josefa Green, Editor

4

eramicsareoneoftheoldesttechnologiesof ancient Iranian civilization. Early

ceramicswerehand-madeanddecoratedwithsimplegeometricpatternsorevensmudgesofpaint.IntheCentralPlateauofnorthernIran,some of the earliest painted ceramics werefoundinTepeSialk(modernKashan).Theseceramics are dated to the Neolithic period,over7500yearsago.Theyaretypicallycoarse,buff ceramics with organic tempers anddecoratedwithsimplegeometricdesigns,netandbasketrypatterns.

During theTransitionalChalcolithicperiod (c.5300-4300 BCE), a new type of fine ceramicsmade its appearance. These fine ceramics,knownasCheshmehAliWareafterthevillageinwhichitwasfirstdiscovered,wereexquisitelypainted and produced to a high technicalstandard.Theredfabricwasspeciallypreparedtoremove impurities.Thebestexampleshaveconsistent, well-fired profiles suggesting thattheirmakerswereexpertcraftsmen.

NotonlydoesCheshmehAliwarerepresentasophisticatedceramiccultureofprehistoricIran, itwaspartof thesocial transformationthat was occurring in all parts of ancientIran. Hunters and gatherers were becomingfarmers or herders. Rare materials such asobsidian and semi-precious stones such asturquoise,agateandlapislazuliweretradedover long distances across the Middle East.Pottery production was becoming a morespecialisedactivitywith advancedkilns anddedicated craft quarters. Metal-workingalsomade itsfirstappearance in theCentralPlateauat this time.VillageswerebecomingsophisticatedtownsandwouldsoonbecomesomeoftheearliesturbancentresofIran.

Cheshmeh Ali ceramics have held specialinterest forarchaeologists,arthistoriansandcollectorsbecausetheyareoneoftheearliestprehistoric painted pottery traditions foundinnorthernIran.In1934-1936,ErichSchmidtfirst uncovered these ceramics at CheshmehAli, a village situated in Rayy, now part ofmodernTehran.Since then, similarceramicshavebeenfoundinprehistoricsitesacrosstheCentralPlateauofnorthern Iran,spanningadistanceofover300km,fromtheQazvinandKashanplainsinthewesttotheGurganandDamghanplainsintheeast.

Although the initial excavation report forCheshmeh Ali itself has never been fully

published, these ceramics have long beenusedasmarkers for the interpretationof thechronology of northern Iran. While the siteof Cheshmeh Ali has yielded rich findingsfrom the Neolithic to the Late Chalcolithicperiod,thisdiscussionwillconcentrateonthefineceramicsof theTransitionalChalcolithicperiod,alsoknown inolder literatureas theSialkIIperiod.ExampleswillbedrawnfrommaterialfoundinothersitesacrosstheCentralPlateauaswellasfromCheshmehAliitself.

Cheshmeh Ali pottery in the TransitionalChalcolithic period is characteristicallyreddish-brown to orange-red in colourwithblackordarkbrownpaintedmotifs.Painteddecorations are present on the interior,exterior or both surfaces. Mineral paintmighthavebeenused in thedecoration thatturneddarkbrownorblackonfiring(MalekShahmirzadi1977:283).

TheCheshmehAliceramicistspaintedflocksof stylised birds with long legs and bentnecks, ibexes and wild goats with curvedandnotchedhorns, evendangerousanimalssuch as snakes. When they painted plants,theypreferredwildflowers and trees ratherthanthecropsthattheywereplanting.Theserepresentational motifs were not present intheprecedingNeolithicperiod,buthavesinceremaineddistinctivefeaturesoftheceramicsfromtheCentralPlateauofIranforthewholeof the Chalcolithic period, which spannedover2000years.

Geometric motifs are well represented onthese vessels. Important designs include

basketryorbrickworkthatwouldhavebeenfound in everyday lives. There were alsodesignssuchas loops,triangles,ovals,wavylines, parallel bands, dots and dashes. As aresult,thepainteddesignsontheceramicscanbequitecomplexwithvariouscombinationsofnaturalisticandgeometricimages.

Forms are open, consisting mainly of cups,bowls, vases and goblets. There are also afew jarsandverydistinctivebasket-handledbowls.Thelatterwasdecidedlyaninnovationas it is not seen in any of the vessels fromthe Neolithic period. The walls of the cupsand bowls are straight, oblique, concave orcarinated.Thethin,smoothrimsarewithoutmouldings.Basesareslightlyconcave,roundor pedestalled. The distinctive pedestalledbase would remain a hallmark of ceramicsfromthisregionofIran.Thethin-walled,grit-temperedvesselsareoftencoatedwithaslipandburnished.Oncedecorated,theceramicswere evenly fired at higher temperatureproducing a characteristic clinking soundwhenstruck.Thethickerwalledvesselsshowthindarkgreycoresthatsuggestinadequatefiring.Thesearemainlylargerstoragevessels.

Earlier scholars have concentrated ondocumenting and comparing designs andtypologyinsiteswherethisdistinctivewarewasfoundinordertoestablisharelativechronologyandregionalcontact.Todayarchaeologistscango beyond these chronological comparisonsto investigate social transformations. Forexample, recent excavations have uncoveredcraftquarters,whileremainsofkilnshavebeenfound insettlements (Fazeliet al. 2005,2007).

4

C

C h E s h m E h a l i W a r E : a Pa i n t E d C E r a m i C

t r a d i t i o n i n t h E i r a n i a n C E n t r a l P l a t E a u

Edna Wong

TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

maPofChEshmEhalisitEs. cREATEd By TOBiN hARTNELL ANd EdNA wONG.

5TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

Directevidenceofceramicproduction,suchasmoulds,ceramicpolishers/scrapers,slag,wastematerials, prepared clay balls and red ochrelumps,hasbeenfoundwithinthesecontexts.

Not only were craftsmen deploying agreaterrangeoftechnologytoproducetheseceramics but there is evidence for growingstandardisationwhich suggests amovementawayfromhouseholdproduction.Aspartofmy doctoral work, I examined very thinly-cut sections of the ceramics using a phasecontrastmicroscopewithrotatingstage.Thiswork at the microscopic level showed thatthe fabric of the Cheshmeh Ali ware wassurprisingly uniform in sherds taken fromvarioussitesintheQazvinandTehranplains.Theclaywaswelllevigatedwithalowratioofcoarse to fine inclusions, good homogeneityand contained only very small amounts oforganic temper. The firing temperature fortheCheshmehAliwarewaslikelytobeabove850ºC,judgingfromtheverylowoccurrenceof calcareous inclusions. To achieve thisqualityofproduction,craftsmenwouldhavehad to select and levigate the clay carefullyandachievegoodtemperaturecontroloftheirkilns.Forthisreason,weconsiderCheshmehAlipottersassomeoftheearliestspecialisedartisansofancientIran.

With the resumption of field work in Iranduring the last 15 years and improvedscientifictechniques,awiderrangeofresearchissues are now being tackled. Geochemical

studiessofarsuggestthattheceramicsweremade in the individual settlements ratherthancentrallymanufacturedanddistributed(Wong 2008). X-radiographic analysis isuncovering different forming techniques inthemanufactureoftheseceramics.Oneofthemore interesting techniques associated withCheshmehAliwarewastheuseofsequentialslab construction technique inwhich round,ovalorpolygonalslabswereusedtoformthevessels. On the rim in particular, elongatedslabs on the surface show clear signs ofregular rotation causing the researchers tohypothesize an early use of a fast rotatingdevice (DipilatoandLaneri1988). Ifproven,theuse of a fast rotatingdevice at this timewould be significantly earlier than knownexamples from Mesopotamia, makingCheshmeh Ali an example of an advancedcraftproductionsociety.

In 1977, anthropologist Martin Wobstsuggested that it might be useful to viewstylesofartefactsasameansof transmittinginformation. Visual information such aspotterystyleandmotifs,amongotherthings,indicates ritual contexts, ethnic affiliationsand self-created identities. The sharing ofvisual information reinforces relationshipsand thus promotes social cohesion andnegotiation between groups by providing arecognisedsetofculturalsymbols.

On this basis, Matney (1995) initiated thestudyofthepaintedmotifsontheCheshmeh

asElECtionofChEshmEhaliCEramiCs, N. iRAN c. 5300 – 4300 BcE, PiGMENT ON EARThENwARE. © PENN UNiVERSiTy, iMAGE NO. 152832

6 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

Ali ceramics. He started by examining andcataloguing all the design elements found onthe available pottery stored in the Universityof Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeologyand Anthropology and the Oriental Instituteof the University of Chicago. He noted theirlocations on the vessels, how they varied andthe combinations in which they occur. Theinformation was coded and entered into acomputerizeddatabase,whichalsocontainedawealthofinformationonthespatial locationofeveryobjectfoundintheexcavation.Theaimwasto generate patterns that would provide someinsightintowhatinformationwasencodedinthepaintedmotifsofthesevessels.AtChoghaMish(southwestern Iran), this type of informationhasbeenusedtodocumentdesignfamiliesthatmight relate to the original households thatproduced these ceramics. At Cheshmeh Ali,this work should similarly promote scholarlydiscussiononthesocialsituationoftheceramicproducersofCheshmehAliware.

Matney’soriginalprojecthassinceexpandedwithagrantfromtheShelbyWhite-LeonLevyProgram. This enables the incorporation ofmaterialfromthere-excavationofCheshmehAliin1997andprovidesaccesstothematerialheldinIranwiththeparticipationofIranianscholars.When completed, itwould contain

theheretounpublishedmanuscriptdetailingthe Schmidt excavation with a database ofarchitecture,ceramicvessels,sherdsandsmallfinds together with new discoveries beingmade at Cheshmeh Ali by contemporaryresearchersandinformationobtainedthroughnewscientifictechniquesnotavailableinthe1930swhenthesitewasfirstexcavated.

AlthoughwehaveknownaboutthepaintedCheshmeh Ali ceramics for decades, it isonly in recent years that more systematicinvestigations intothesevesselshavebegun.These investigations include re-excavationsof important archaeological sites, includingCheshmeh Ali itself, Zagheh and TepeSialk. The most important new site underexcavation is Tepe Pardis, a prehistorictown that oversaw large-scaleproductionofTransitionalChalcolithicceramics.Thesenewexcavations and surveys provide absolutedatingusing the radiocarbondatingmethodand enable archaeologists to gain a betterunderstanding of the settlement pattern aswell as technological and socio-economicaldevelopments in this region. All of theseresults together will further the study ofthe dynamics of interregional interactionand growth of social complexity in the lateprehistoricperiod.

Ultimately, the study of the Cheshmeh Aliceramics goes beyond the obvious aestheticappeal of these exquisitely painted vessels.Thestudyoftheproductionanddistributionof the Cheshmeh Ali ceramics holds thekey to the transition of the pottery industryfromahouseholdonetothatofanorganisedworkshop industryof specialistpotterswithincreasing standardisation in production,heralding the new era of craft specialisationthat was to become the hallmark of theChalcolithic period, an era of technologicalbreakthroughnotonlyinceramicsbutalsoinmetallurgyandsocialorganisation.

dr Edna wong is honorary Research Associate in the

department of Archaeology, University of Sydney.

rEfErEnCEsdipilato, S. and Laneri, N. 1998. “Sequential Slab construction”

and Other Problems concerning hand-building Techniques” in

Chalcolithic Iran: Experimenting with Mammographic X-Ray Images.

Bar international Series, 720, pp. 59-68.

Fazeli, h., coningham R. A. E. and Batt, c. M. 2004. “cheshmeh-

Ali Revisited: Towards an Absolute dating of the Late Neolithic and

chalcolithic of iran’s Tehran Plain”, Iran 42: 13-23.

Fazeli, N. h., coningham, R. A. E., young, R. L., Gillmore, G. K.

Maghsoudi, M. and Reza, h. 2007. “Social Transformations of the

Tehran Plain; Final Season of Settlement Survey and Excavations at

Tepe Pardis”, Iran 45: 267-286.

Fazeli, h., wong, E. h. and Potts, d.T. 2005. “The Qazvin Plain

Revisited: A Reappraisal of the chronology of northwestern central

Plateau, iran, in the 6th to the 4th Millennium Bc”, Ancient Near

Eastern Studies xLii: 3-82.

Matney, T. 1995. “Re-excavating cheshmeh Ali”, Expedition 37(2):

26-38.

Schmidt, E. 1935. “The Persian Expedition”, University Bulletin

5(5): 41-49.

wong, E.h.y. 2008. Ceramic characterization and inter-site

relationships in the northwestern Central Plateau, Iran, in the

Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Ph.d. dissertation, University

of Sydney.

fiEldstaffrEstoringChEshmEhaliCEramiCvEssElonsitE.1930’S. PhOTO: E. SchMidT. © ORiENTAL iNSTiTUTE, chicAGO

ChEshmEhalishErdsshoWingWildgoatsWithCurvEd

horns, PiGMENT ON EARThENwARE. PhOTO: hASSAN FAzELi

7TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

lamite civilization was the result ofinteraction between low-land Susiana

(broadly the present day province ofKhuzestan) and high-land eastern Zagrospolities,whichcoalescedintothecreationofamulticentredElamitestatearound2000BCE.FromtheMesopotamianperspective,Susianawas the gateway to the eastern Iranianhighlands, the plateau beyond, providingindispensable access to primary materialresources such asmetals, timber, and stone.From the highland perspective it was thegatewaytoawebofflourishing,riverbound,urban Mesopotamian centres with luxurymanufacturedgoodsandunmatchedculturalandsocialcomplexity.

The artistic heritage of Elam is dominatedby thematerial productionunearthed at thecity of Susa. Founded at around 4000 BCEontwonaturalprominentoutcropsreachingc.10.5 to 7 m high above the surroundingSusiana plain, the southern town extendedover c. 7 ha (the alumelu “high-rising” cityor Acropole mound), the northern townextendedoverc.6.3ha(theApadanamound).TheAcropolehostedamassivemonumentalterrace,grainstoragefacilities,andhundredsof funerary remains including flat axes,chisels, pins, flat mirrors made of copper

and finely decorated wares. So-called SusaI style pottery is characterized by egg shell-thinwalled,slightlyfiredbeakersandbowlsdecorated with monochrome geometric andnaturalistic designs in black paint over acreambackground.

Elam as empire came to political maturityaround1850BCE.Bythelate19thcenturyBCEthefigureandauthorityofthe“GreatKingofElam”dominatedinternationalpoliticstotheextent that Elam was orchestrating political

changesinMesopotamianandMediterraneanpolities.Theeconomicprosperityandpoliticalinfluenceof theSukkalmahperiod (c. 1900 -1500BCE) is reflectedbyawealthofartisticand monumental architectural remains.The city of Susa expanded to about 85 hatowards the east with a succession of newneighbourhoods, which included a school,a tavern, and monumental compound elitehouseholdsorganisedalonglargecourtyardsand reception halls. These mud-brickconstructionsprovideinsightsintotraditional

E

E l a m i t E a r t

Javier Álvarez-Món

susa1vEssEls, c. 4000 BcE, PiGMENT ON EARThENwARE, FROM ‘ThE ROyAL ciTy OF SUSA: ANciENT NEAR EASTERN TREASURES iN ThE LOUVRE’,

(Ed) P.O. hARPER, J. ARUz, F. TALLON, hARRy N. ABRAMS, Ny, 1992 PP32, 35 & 40. LOUVRE MUSEUM

ziggaratatChogazanbil, c. 1340 – 1300 BcE. PhOTO: J. ÁLVAREz-MóN

8 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

vernaculararchitecturalpractices,sometimesknownas“architecturewithoutarchitects”.

Situatedbetweentheancienthighwaylinkingthe Elamite capitals of Susa and Anšan, liesthe open-air sanctuary of Kurangun. It wascarvedaround1650BCEontopofarock-cliffoverlooking the Fahliyan River majesticallyflowing through the panoramic Mamasaniregion. The sanctuary exhibits an exceptionalexampleofhighlandElamiteartandreligiousideology.Itsmanufacturerequiredcuttingdeepintotheverticalsideoftherockinordertomakethreeflightsofstaircaseslinkedtoarectangular5x2mplatformandthreebasinswithcarvedremainsof 26fish.Thevertical surfaceof therockexhibitsarectangularpanelcarvedinlow-reliefwithapiousreligiousimagerepresentingthedivineElamitecoupleandworshipers.ThebeardedmaleGreatGodissittingonathronemade of a coiled serpent. His right hand isbestowingsymbolsofpower(ringandrod)andblessings(holywater)totheElamitemonarchs.Sculptedalongthestaircasesarethreegroupsof about 40maleworshippers represented inprofileandwearing longbraidedhairendingon a looped knob, which were added to therelief during the early Neo-Elamite period c.800BCE(Potts2004).

Elam’s political rivals in Mesopotamiawere the Kassite tribes. No less than fivegenerations of Elamite rulers had Kassitewives, mothers, or both. The enduringassociation between Elamite and Kassiteroyal elites established the basis for Elamiteclaims on the Babylonian throne. Theseclaims eventually ended with the collapseof the Kassite dynasty and sack of Babylon

in 1155 BCE,marked by the “departure” toElamof the statue ofMarduk togetherwithlarge amounts of “trophy”. Amongst themostcelebratedartefactsplacedinthesacredAcropole complex at Susa in dedication totheElamitedivinitieswere theLawCodeofHammurabiandtheVictorySteleofNaram-Sin. The resources accumulated during thisperiod of Elamite imperial expansionismproduced an unprecedented artistic goldenagefromc.1500to1000BCE.

A mystifying aspect of Elamite funerarypracticesconsistedofplacinglife-sizeclayheadsnext to the skull of the deceased. The headsweremodelledandpaintedwithdetailedfacialfeatures suggesting individualised portraits.Who the heads were meant to representremains open to speculation (Negahban 1991:37-39,Alvarez-Mon2006).

The most important Middle Elamite kingwasUntaš-Napirišaof the Igehalkihouse (c.1340-1300 BCE). The sculpture of his wife,queen Napir-Asu, remains a masterpiece ofancient metallurgical work. The 1.29 m tallacephalicstatueweighing1750kgwasfoundinthetempleofthegodNinursag,intheSusaAcropole mound. Until very recently thetechniquesusedtocastthecopperandbronzesculpture remainedunknown. Itwas cast intwopartsusinga claycore thatallowed themakingofasingleshellofcopperbythelost-wax technique.Once the corewas removed,the shell was filled with solid bronze. Thequeen’s garmentswere chased after casting.Theuppershort-sleevedblousewasdecoratedwithhundredsoflittlepointeddotsprobablyrepresenting embroideries or, more likely,

metallicbracteates.The large skirt ends in alongflared fringeand includesmotifs in theshapeofbandsandpointeddots.Thesurfacewasfurtherembellishedwithgoldandsilverfoils(Meyers2000).

Untaš-Napiriša is credited with institutinga religious “revolution” by founding a holycity dedicated to the veneration of highlandand lowland divinities. Choğa Zanbil islocatedabout35kmsoutheastofSusa.Itwassurroundedbythreeconcentricwallsenclosingroyal funerary monumental installations,temples,andanestimated53mhighzigguratbuilt of millions of clay bricks. The ziggurathad four levels and, at floor level, twomainentrancesflankedby twinpairs of protectiveblue-glazedbullsandbird-headedgriffinsThestaircases led to a brightly decorated templetoppingtheziggurat(thekukunnum)dedicatedtothehighlandgodNapirišaandthelowlandgodInšušinak(Ghirshman1966).

The interlude between c.1100 and 750 BCEis a “dark age” period of Elamite historyreflectedby the absenceofmaterial remainsin the archaeological record. During thefirst millennium BCE the identity of Elamunderwent two alterations that forced areformulationofitspolitical,social,andartisticcharacter. Socially, the genetic pool of Elamwas increasingly replenished by individualsofancestralIndo-European(Iranian)heritageinparallelwiththeemergenceofadominantclass characterised by an equestrian culture.Geopolitically,theconstantElamitechallengeto Assyrian authority over the Zagros andMesopotamia resulted in the devastationofwestern Elam and saw a shift in cultural

statuEofQuEEnnaPir-asu, c. 1340 BcE, BRONzE ANd

cAST cOPPER, LOUVRE MUSEUM. PhOTO: J. ÁLVAREz-MóN

lifE-sizE“royal”hEadsfromhafttaPPEh, c. 1380 BcE, PAiNTEd cLAy.

ThE MUSEUM OF SUSA, ShUSh (KhUziSTAN). PhOTO: J. ÁLVAREz-MóN

9TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

¯

and political power eastwards towards thehighlands(Álvarez-Món2009).

TheZagroshighlandregionofIzeh/Malamirisnested inamountainvalley locatedabout100km to the east of Susa.Carvedover thesidesofcliffsandbouldersareaseriesof12Elamite bas-reliefs without parallel in theartistic historical record of the ancient NearEast. Two reliefs are of particular interestbecause of their size and subject matter.They depict complex ceremonial sacrificesaccompanied by musical performances andbanquetceremonies.Datedaround800BCE,thereliefofKul-eFarahnumberIVcapturesa“frozen-in-time”communalbanquetcentringon the figure of a king sitting on a throneand surrounded by at least 140 participantsconsuming meat. The aesthetic choicesand distribution of the various registers,which group servants, high status nobles,and possibly a priestly and military class,

illustratesadistinctiveartisticproductionandrepresentsaclearhierarchicalorderorganisedbysocialstatus(Álvarez-Mónforthcoming).

The standard view of the end of the ElamiteEmpire brings the period to a closewith theassumeddestruction of Susa by theAssyriankingAshurbanipalin647BCE,theprogressiveabandonment of urban centres paired withpolitical fragmentation, the reversal to apastoral nomadic socio-economic existence,and theultimatedisappearanceofElam fromthe historical record. A recent reassessmentof the textual and archaeological sources hasprompted alternative views of the end of theElamiteempireandconsequently,ofthegenesisof the Achaemenid Persian period (Álvarez-Món,GarrisonandStronach,inpress).

In1982astone-walledburialwasaccidentallydiscovered near the ancient city of Arjan,situated to the northeast of the present-day

city of Behbahan. Inside the tomb a bronzebath-tub style coffin contained the skeletalremains of an adultmale lying on his back.Next to the skeleton lay a pile of cotton-made textiles folded in layers (the earliestattested secure evidence of the presence ofcotton in the Near East) and gold rosettesanddisks.To thesideof theskeleton layanirondaggerornamentedwithpreciousstonesandgoldfiligree.The rightarmwasbent inthe direction of the chest, resting next to anextraordinarygoldceremonial“ring”.

Thisartefacthasnoparallelintheartsoftheancientworld.Ithasatubulargroovedmiddleshaft endingwithcircularplaquesonwhichcanbefoundmatchingrepousséandchaseddesignsoframpantlion-headedgriffinsposedheraldically arounda smallpalmette-tree.Alidengravedwithregistersoffloralbudsandlotus blossoms was placed over the coffinand secured by ropes to the handles on thesides. Outside the coffin were a number ofadditionalpreciousitemsofceremonialand/or functionaluse.This evidence of anArjanartisticschoolataround600BCEbetweentheending years of theElamiteEmpire and thegenesis of the Achaemenid-Persian Empiresuggestsanhistoricalnexuswheretheprocessof transference and cultural continuitybetween Elam and Persia can actually bedocumented(Álvarez-Món2010).

dr. Javier Álvarez-Món is a Fulbright-hays

Scholar in the Near Eastern Art and Archaeology

department of Archaeology, School of Philosophical

and historical Enquiry, University of Sydney.

rEfErEnCEsÁlvarez-Món, J. 2006. “Elamite Funerary clay heads”, Near

Eastern Archaeology 68/3: 114–2.

Álvarez-Món, J., 2010. The Arjan Tomb: at the Crossroad of the

Elamite and the Persian Empires, Peeters, Leiden.

Álvarez-Món, J., 2009. “Ashurbanipal’s Feast: a view from Elam”,

Iranica Antiqua 44.

Álvarez-Món, J., [forthcoming] “Braids of Glory, Elamite Sculptural

Reliefs from the highlands: Kul-e Farah iV”, in K. degraef and

J. Tavernier (eds.), Susa and Elam, Archaeological, Philological,

Historical, and Geographical Perspectives, Brill, Leuven (expected

2010).

Álvarez-Món, J., Garrison M.B. and Stronach d. [in Press].

“introduction for Elam and Persia”, in J. Álvarez-Món and M.B.

Garrison (eds.), Elam and Persia, Eisenbrauns, winona Lake.

Ghirshman, R., 1966. Tchoga zanbil, Vol 1 (La ziggurat),

Mémoires de la Délégation en Perse 39, Paris.

Meyers, P., 2000. “The casting Process of the Statue of Queen

Napir-Asu in the Louvre”, Journal of Roman Archaeology,

Supplementary Series 39: 11–8.

Negahban, E., 1991. Excavations at Haft Tepe, Iran, University

Museum Monograph 70, Philadelphia.

Potts, d.T., 2004. “The Numinous and the immanent, Some

Thoughts on Kurangun and the Rudkhaneh-e Fahliyan”, in K. von

Folsach, h. Thrane, and i. Thuesen (eds.), From Handaze to Khan,

Essays Presented to Peder Mortensen on the Occasion of his 70th

Birthday, Aarhus: 143–56.

oPEnairsanCtuaryofKurangunWithrEliEfCarvings, c 1650 BcE. PhOTO: J. ÁLVAREz-MóN. LiNE dRAwiNG FROM L. VANdEN

BERGhE, RELIEFS RUPESTRES DE L’IRAN ANCIEN, MUSéES ROyAUX D’ART ET D’HISTOIRE, BRUxELLES, 1984 P228 cOPyRiGhT: J. ÁLVAREz-MóN

10 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

ome of the best preserved early Iranianmural art is currently being excavated

by the Karakalpak-Australian Expedition toChorasmia, in modern Uzbekistan. Datingto the end of the firstmillenniumBCE, andperhapsanearlyforerunnertotheflourishingearly medieval mural art traditions ofcentral Asia, the paintings demonstrate anunprecedented diversity of colour, styleand imagery; they provide critical newperspectivesonboth the foreign relationsoftheancientChorasmianoasis,andthevisualartoftheancientIranianworld.

Chorasmia forms an agricultural wedge inthe delta region of the Amu Darya whereit flows into the Aral Sea. Located betweenthe agricultural world to the south and thevaststepperegion to thenorth,Chorasmia’slocation is important in understanding itsrole as a ‘contact zone’ in thewider Iranianworld(Francfort2005).TheregionisperhapsbestknownasthenortheasternbufferoftheAchaemenid Empire. Despite ceding earlyfrom theEmpire - probably around the endof the 5th century BCE – recent researchdemonstratesadistinctNearEasternheritageinChorasmianvisualart.

ThewallpaintingsfromthemonumentalsiteofKazakly-yatkanintheeasternChorasmianoasis reflect clear links with its sedentaryand nomadic neighbours, providing a raresnapshot of a thriving and syncretic localvisualart culture in the littleknowneasternIranianworld.Builtinthelate3rdorearly2ndcentury BCE, Kazakly-yatkan is the largestsite in Chorasmia during this period and apossible regional ruling centre. The mostimpressivestructureatthesitetodateistheKY10monumental building complex,whichcomprises a central building apparentlysurroundedbyacorridoronallsides,andaseriesofroomsandcirculationspacesaroundthis. Although its exact function is unclear,the buildingwas characterized by a diverseprogram of display. Monumental mural artis just one element of this program, whichincluded moulded copper alloy and goldleaf architectural ornamentation, paintedsculpture,paintedcolumnsandperhapsevendecoratedceilings.

One of the most impressive preservedsectionsofthepaintingsisanimagegalleryinthewesterncorridorsurroundingthecentralbuilding(Yagodin,Betts,etal.,forthcoming).

The images in the gallery provide for thefirst time in pre-Islamic Iranianmural art anextensively preserved group of individuallyframed, almost life-size bust ‘portraits’ –though this term is loosely applied as theseschematicimagesdonotrepresenta‘likeness’assuch.Atleast36personagescanbeidentifiedfrom over 100 fragments found in the fill ofthe corridor. The busts are shown frontally,whiletheprofileheadofeachpersonagefaceseither right or left. The physiognomy of thepersonages appears to be the same: full, redlips, strong nose, unique eyes with stylisedeyelashes,andredearswiththedetailsofthecartilageclearlydefined.

Althoughno fragmentsof theportraitswerefound in situ in the corridor, several largefragments preserving multiple portraitsprovideanindicationoftheoriginalstructureof the gallery. A surviving column showsthree framed portraits, suggesting that theywerepaintedinthreetiersacrossthewallface.Thelocationofthefragmentsinthefillofthecorridorindicatesthatonlytheeasternsideofthewallwaspainted.Giventhatthegalleryislessthan2mwidetheseimageswereclearlynot made for a large, public audience.Whowastheintendedaudienceofthegallery?

Perhaps the most vexing question about theportraitsistheiridentity.Allofthepersonageswearaspiraltorquewithzoomorphicterminals

– a clear indication of elite identity. Otherelementsofthecostume–suchastheheaddressand the colour and patterning of the dress –are almost certainly gender, ethnic and otherstatusindicators,butthesesignifiersarenotyetunderstood. The absence of facial hair on theportraitscompoundsthegenderissue.

Fragments of painted text found in thecorridor mention the word ‘king’ in theancientChorasmian language.This has led tospeculationthattheimagescompriseaportraitgalleryofroyalancestors.Otherinterpretationsarepossible.Spiraltorquesareunknowninthearchaeological record ofChorasmia; they findtheir best parallels in steppe burials, and onrulerportraitsonParthiancoins(Reeder,1999;Sellwood, 1981).A steppe identity for at leastsomeof thoseportrayed in thegallery cannotberuledout–andmayalsohintatapoliticalfunctionoftheKY10complex.Asteppeidentityis further supported by comparative evidenceoftheuniquebirdprotomeheaddressesshownonsomeoftheportraits.Theclosestparallelstodate for these headdresses come fromnomad‘warrior’ burials in the Pazyryk region of theAltaiMountainsdatedgenerallytothesecondhalfofthefirstmillenniumBCE.

In addition to a steppe connection, otherfragments underline the Near Easternheritage of at least someof the visual art atKazakly-yatkan.Afragmentofwallpainting

S

t h E K a z a K ly-y a t K a n W a l l Pa i n t i n g s : n E W P E r s P E C t i v E s

o n t h E a r t o f t h E a n C i E n t i r a n i a n W o r l d

Fiona KiddfiEldPhotoofa‘Portrait’fragmEnt,EASTERN chORASMiA, UzBEKiSTAN, c LATE 3Rd/EARLy 2Nd cENTURy BcE. PhOTO: FiONA Kidd

11TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

from a circulation space to the west of thecentral building shows a face with grapesand a vine leaf. In close proximity to thisfragment was another one, showing whatappearstobeatendril.Thebestparallelsforthis combined grape, vine leaf and tendrilmotifcomefromtheParthiansiteofOldNisa,where a spectacular horde of ivory rhytonswas found. A similar motif combining thegrapes, leavesand tendrilswasusedaspartof a frieze on some of the rhytons (Massonand Pugachenkova 1982: Pl 12,1). An asyet unpublished magnificent carved ivoryfurniture element from the central buildingfindsremarkableparallelswithParthianandAchaemenid throne legs (Jamzadeh 1996;

Pugachenkova1992).Alsounpublishedisanornamentalpatterncomprisingat least threedecorated concentric circles. This motif canbe traced back to the Achaemenid andAssyrianempires.

Apaintingfragmentshowinga‘crowdscene’fromthecentreofthebuildingsfindsitsbestparallels in an image from the site of Kuh-iKhwaja in Sistan, almost certainly dated tothe early centuriesCE if not later (Faccenna1981; Ghanimati 2000). These linkages raisefurther critical questions. From a politicalperspective, what was the nature of therelations betweenChorasmia and the rulingIranian heartland, and the steppe world?

What was the direction of the spread ofthese influences? From a more art historicperspective, whowere the designers, artistsandcraftspeopleinvolvedintheconstructionofthebuilding?Whereweretheytrained?

In the absence of any targeted study ofChorasmian - or even eastern Iranian/central Asian - art, the rich corpus fromKazakly-yatkanwillplayan intrinsic role inunderstanding broader developments in thevisualartoftheancientIranianworld.Isthesyncretic style exhibited at Kazakly-yatkanrepresentativeofChorasmianart?EquallyassignificantistheideathattheKazakly-yatkanmuralartdoesnotblatantlycopyimagesanddesignsfromsurroundingregions:designersoftheKazakly-yatkandisplayprogramwerecertainlyinfluencedbysurroundingcultures,but their interpretations of these influenceswere unique. Ongoing research at Kazakly-yatkan will surely continue to provide richinsights on the visual art of the ancientIranianworld.

The Karakalpak-Australian Expedition to Chorasmia is directed by V.N. Yagodin and A. Betts. The project has received substantial support from the Australian Research Council as well as National Geographic and many volunteers. C14 analyses were largely funded by support from ANSTO.

dr Fiona Kidd is an Australian Research council

Postdoctoral Fellow in the department of Archaeology,

University of Sydney. her current research explores

ancient chorasmian visual art, with a particular focus

on the Kazakly-yatkan wall paintings.

rEfErEnCEsFaccenna, d., 1981. “A new fragment of wall-painting from

Ghaga Sahr (Kuh-i hvaga - Sistan, iran)”, East and West 31 1-4

(1981): 83-97 + plates.

Francfort, h.-P., 2005. “Asie centrale”, L’Archeologie de l’Empire

Achemenide: nouvelles recherche de P. Briant, and R. Boucharlat,

de Boccard, Paris. 6: 313-352.

Ghanimati, S., 2000. “New perspectives on the chronological and

functional horizons of Kuh-e Khwaja in Sistan”, Iran 38: 137-150.

Jamzadeh, P.,1996. “The Achaemenid throne-leg design.”, Iranica

Antiqua 31: 101-146.

Masson, M.E. and G.A. Pugachenkova, 1982. The Parthian

rhytons of Nisa, casa Editrice le Lettere, Firenze.

Pugachenkova G.A., 1969. “Tron Mitridata i iz Parfyanskoy Nisy.”

Vestnik Drevney Istorii 1 (107): 161-171.

Reeder, E., 1999. Scythian Gold.Treasures from Ancient Ukraine,

harry N. Abrams in association with The walters Art Gallery and

the San Antonio Museum of Art, New york.

Sellwood, d., 1981. An Introduction to the Coinage of Parthia,

Spink, London.

yagodin, V, Betts, A. et al. Forthcoming in 2010. “Karakalpak-

Australian excavations in ancient chorasmia. An interim report on

the Kazakly-yatkan wall paintings: the ‘portrait gallery.” Journal of

Inner Asian Art and Archaeology 4.

digitisEdtraCingofWallPaintingfragmEntPrEsErvingfourPortraits,

EASTERN chORASMiA, UzBEKiSTAN, c LATE 3Rd/EARLy 2Nd cENTURy BcE. PhOTO: FiONA Kidd

12 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

henDariusItookthethronein522BCE,he planned a new city to symbolise the

ideals of the Achaemenid Empire. UnlikeCyrus (559 -530BCE) innearbyPasargadaewho emphasised his Ancient Near Easternheritage with traditional images of wingedgeniiandhalf-man,half-animalpriests,Dariuswanted to create an environment that wasquintessentially Persian. Yet Darius’ Persia(modern Fars or Pars Province, southernIran) was still tribal and it was only onegeneration since Cyrus had built the oldestknown recognisably Persian monumentalarchitecture. Therefore Parsa (GreekPersepolis) represents more than a city; itrepresentsamajorstepinthetransformationofPersia andanextensionof the identityofthe landand itspeople. Itwas so importantthat even 2000 years after its destruction,visitors recognised the grandeur of ancientPersiaatthesite.

The defining feature of this city was thegrand terrace and its monumental palaces.The major buildings were Iranian-inspired.TheApadana (publicpalaceofXerxes r.486- 465 BCE) resembles in form the columnedhalls of elite Iranian houses in 9th centuryBCEHasanlu (northwestern Iran) that wereusedtoentertainguests.Thegrandcourtyardof Persepolis is a formalised version ofHasanlu’s arrangement of columned hallsaround courtyards. Even the terrace is aformalised extension of the high placesused forsanctuaries, suchas the Iranian firetemple at Nush-e Jan (western Iran). Theinnovationliesintheplanningandexecutionof Persepolis, the largest,most intricate and

luxuriouspalacecomplexeverbuiltupuntilthatperiodinPersia’shistory.

In the construction of Persepolis and otherearlypalaces, theAchaemenidkingsneededtointroducenewartsintothePersianidiom.The earlier Elamite canon of monumentalarchitecture emphasised solid mass brokenup by barrel vaults; in Persepolis, a Greek-style post and lintel design was used withstone-framed windows bringing light intothe interior. Egyptians and Medes (westernIran) fashioned gold inlay to accentuate theintricatereliefpanelsthatservedasorthostatsforthepalaces.LydiansandagainEgyptianswere the master woodworkers; Babylonians(southern Iraq) were the masters of bakedbrick installations, glazed with brightcolours.TheresultisamasterpieceofPersianarchitecture that is still visited by over onemillionPersiantouristseachyear.

Yet in classicalGreeksources,historicalandliterary, Persepolis is barely visible. Thereis no direct evidence that any resident ofmainlandGreek everwent further east thanSusa (southwestern Iran) before the timeof Alexander. Indeed, Aeschylus’ play The Persians dramatises the Achaemenid courtmourning the naval defeat at Salamis (nearAthens)atSusa.WhenArtaxerxesII’sbrotherCyrus theYoungerhiredGreekmercenariesto march against the Persian king, theymarched from Sardis (the capital of AsiaMinor) to Babylon. Arguably the two mostimportant contemporary Greek authors onAncient Persia, Herodotus and Xenophon,never mention Persepolis. Instead Babylon

and Susa overshadow Persepolis in GreekwritinguntilthecampaignsofAlexander.

For Alexander, Persia was the enemy ofall Hellenes and Persepolis the most hatedcity in Asia (Diodorus Siculus, 17.70-72).After his victory against the Persian armyat Gaugamela (near Arbela, northern Iraq),AlexanderrestedthearmyatBabylonbeforemoving against Persia in January 330 BCE.HeknewofPersepolis’culturalimportancetothePersians andunderstood that to capturePersepolis was to symbolically defeat theenemy,leavingDariusIIIasakingwithoutathrone.Alexandercorrespondinglyactednotjustasvictorbutliberator,sendinganyGreekslaveshomewithhighhonours.RevengeforPersia’s ancient aggression against Greecewasathand.

What Alexander found at Persepolis farexceeded expectations, even for the famedluxuryoftheAchaemenidEmpire.Accordingto Diodorus Siculus (17.70), Persepolis wasthe greatest city under the sun.As the newmaster of Asia, this luxury presented aconundrum for Alexander. Persepolis washis property and he could have left the cityintact like he did with Memphis (Egypt),Babylon (Iraq), and Susa (southwesternIran). Alternatively, Alexander could followthemodel of Tyre, the capital of Phoenicia,whichhadtobedestroyedinordertosecurehis control of the Mediterranean. Whetherthrough accident, or whether Alexanderwas spurred on by the prostitute Thais - assuggestedbyancientwriterssuchasQuintusCurtius-Persepoliswasburnttotheground.

P E r s E P o l i s i n t h E W E s t E r n i m a g i n a t i o n

Tobin Hartnell

W

PanoramaofPErsEPolis, 5Th cENTURy BcE. PhOTO: ShERViN AFShAR, 2006

13TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3 13

This act of destruction still reverberatesthroughhistory:localsstillholdAlexandertoaccountforculturalvandalism.

Arrian (6.30) described how Alexanderregretted the destruction of the city on hisreturnfromIndiaandCentralAsia.AlexanderstartedtheprocessofrehabilitatingPersepoliswith the construction of altars dedicated tohimself and Phillip. He prosecuted Orsines,governor of Persia, for desecrating Persianroyalgraves.Inhisstead,AlexanderappointedPeukestas, a Persian-speaking Macedonianand one of Alexander’s Companions. Fromthe most hated city in Asia, Persepolis hadbecomeAlexander’sfavouredcityofPersia.

The subsequent development of PersepolisembodiedAlexander’sideaofaunionbetweenMacedonandPersiatoenablecontrolofAsia.When Alexander returned to Babylon, heorganiseda jointreligiousceremonyofficiatedby bothmagi (Zoroastrian priests) andGreekdiviners. In 317 BCE, Peukestas copiedAlexanderwithamassivejointceremonyofmagianddivinersattendingthealtarsofAlexanderand Phillip at Persepolis.Archaeologists havealso found a Greek religious precinct nearPersepolis with dedications to Zeus, Athena,Apollo, Artemis, and Helios (Callieri 2007).Immediately to the south of this complexappears tobea fire templewithareliefpanelshowing a magus holding the barsom (sacredwood)thatheisofferingtotheholyfire.

Overtime,Persepolisagainfadedtoobscurity.TheRoman geographer Strabo (64 BCE - 24CE)correctlyrecountedtheclimateofPersiabutwasmuchmoreinterestedinthefertilityofSusaandBabylonia.IsidoreofCharax(1stcenturyCE)describedtheSilkRoadpassingfrom Seleucia-on-the-Tigris (the Hellenisticcapital of southern Iraq) to Media (westernIran) and then through the north of Iran to

Merv(Turkmenistan)beforeenteringCentralAsia. As a result, Persia was becoming arelative backwater and Persepolis itself wassupplantedbyneighbouringIstakhr.Atsomepoint, the ruined city of Persepolis becamemythologisedasthecapitalofYama,thefirstking of Iran, and therefore the birthplace ofIranian civilization. The city’s true historywasbeingprogressivelylost.

Startinginthe16thcenturyCE,Iranemergedas a Middle Eastern superpower under theSafavidkings.Asayoungking,ShahAbbasI(1587-1629)reachedouttohisBritishalliestohelpevictthePortuguesefromthePersianGulfandhisUzbekenemiesinCentralAsia.Followinghismilitarysuccess,AbbasIstartedto expand the Iranian economywith a newport on the Persian Gulf to capture part oftheEastIndiestradeandaseriesof999royalcaravanseraisthatspannedthebreadthofhis

kingdom.He also opened up relationswithEurope and these visitors started to leavetheirimpressionsofIranintravelaccounts.

These early European visitors were clearlyimpressed by Persepolis. An anonymous17th century author proclaimed: “Therestood, in stately solitude, the pride of ages,which appear almost fabulous from theirdistance.” Dom Garcias de Silva Figueroa(the Spanish Ambassador to Shah Abbas I)proclaimed the monument as greater thanany inRomeas it “was theonlymonumentwithout imposture”. He appears to be thefirstEuropeantocorrectlyidentifythesiteasPersepolis (Mousavi 2002).Ouseley creditedthe venerable monument with inspiringeven sober-minded judges. At the ruins ofPersepolis, these visitors were encounteringthe romance of the Orient, irrefutable proofofthelegacyofPersia.

view of DARiuS’ PAlAce, PERSEPOLiS, E. FLANdiN ANd P. cOSTE PENciL dRAwiNG, 1840’S,

FROM ‘VOyAGE EN PERSE’, GidE ET J. BAUdRy, PARiS, 1851-54

14 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

Initially, the site tookonbiblicalundertones(Vaux 1855). Visitors were greeted at thegate by lamassu (winged guardian spiritsin the form of a bull). The winged bullswere compared to Ezekial’s descriptions ofmonstrous animals or Daniel’s half-human,half-bestialprince.TheApadanawasknownas the Chehel Minar (or Forty Minarets), astrange coincidence as neighbouring Istakhrpreserves the first purpose built mosquein Fars Province and possibly Iran (c. 660CE: Whitcomb 1979). In the royal tombsoverlooking the site, Kaempfer saw theArkoftheCovenant.Evenaftermakingadetaileddescription of the monument in the early19th century, Porter described theHundredColumn Hall of Artaxerxes II as a templefor the performance of Mithraic Mysteries.Fergusson (1851) drew a reconstruction ofPersepolis after the fashion of Solomon’shouse.These biblical impulsesderived fromthe religious symbols carved into thewalls,though the primary function of Persepoliswastohostpublicmeetinghalls,privateroyalresidences,andadministrativebuildingsofaroyalcapital.

Persepolis started to come into its ownagain in the 19th century (Mousavi,2002). Grotefend started the translation ofPersepolis’inscriptionsin1802byrecognisingthe royal names of Darius and Xerxes. Theearliestexcavationsintheearly19thcenturywere at best highly unethical, as MorierappearstohaveexcavatedPersepoliswithoutpermission insearchofobjects tosellonthe

art market in England. In 1842, Texier tooka more scientific approach, using chemicalanalysis to document colour on the originalrelief panels. French artists Flandin andCoste visited the site in the 1840s and theyare credited with the earliest accurate andreliable drawings of Persepolis. The ItalianLuigiPescewasthefirstknownphotographerof Persepolis in 1857, an early example ofphotography in archaeology. The ancientruinswerebecomingfamousinEurope.Yet,by the turn of the 20th century no scientificexcavationshadtakenplaceatthesite.

ItwasonlyafterWorldWarIthatPersepolisbecame the subject of intense archaeologicalspeculation. Herzfeld petitioned the newPahlavidynasty(1925-1979)toopenIranianarchaeologytoawiderangeof internationalprojects in return for a share of the finds.He andhis rival, theAmerican art historianArthur Upham Pope, both wanted to workatPersepolisbecauseofitsimportancetothehistoryofPersia.Herzfeldwon thedayandstarted to excavate for theOriental InstituteofChicago;intheprocessthesitebecamethefirst major American archaeology project inIran.AfterWorldWarII, Iranianscontinuedthe archaeological work with importantexcavations by Ali Sami, the first Iraniandirector of Persepolis, and Dr Tajdivi, aswell as important historical publicationsby Dr Shapur Shahbazi. All of these worksculminatedinthechoiceofPersepolisasthesiteoftheill-fatedcelebrationof2500yearsofPersiankingshipin1971.

Persepolis was the leading city of itsera, the height of Persian luxury andsophistication.Despite,orperhapsasaresultof, his destruction of the city, Alexanderchose Persepolis as an important site toimplement his policy of political unificationbetweenPersiansandMacedonians.Astimeprogressed,Persepolisfadedinthehistoricalliterature and became a mythologicallandmark-thecityofYama,firstkingofIran.

Starting in the Safavid times under ShahAbbas I the ruined city of Persepolis againbecame an emblem of the magnificence ofancientPersia. It functioned as apilgrimagesite of sorts for learned European travellerswho recognised its symbolic importance.During the 19th century, the city’s ancientheritage was intensively recorded throughdrawing and photography but the siteremainedlargelyhiddenbeneaththepilesofancientdirt.Inthe20thcentury,itbecamethefirstmajorAmericanarchaeologicalprojectinIran and subsequently an important site forIranian archaeologists working to uncovertheirownheritage.

In sum, Persepolis was a city of firsts andineachera itwas reinventedasnewpeopleencountered this magnificent capital ofancientPersia.

Tobin hartnell is a Ph.d candidate in iranian

Archaeology, University of chicago. he is currently

co-director of an archaeological project at Persepolis.

rEfErEnCEsArrian,. 1983. Anabasis of Alexander, Indica, Volume ii, translated

by P.A. Brunt. harvard University Press, cambridge.

callieri, Pierfrancesco, 2007. “L’archéologie du Fars à l’époque

hellénistique: Quatre leçons au collège de France” 8, 15, 22 et

29 Mars 2007, Persika, Volume 11.

diodorus Siculus, 1946 - 1967. Bibliotheca Historica, Translation

by c. h. Oldfather, harvard University Press, cambridge.

Fergusson, James, 1851. The Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis

Restored: An Essay on Ancient Assyrian and Persian Architecture,

John Murray Publishers, London.

Mousavi, Ali, 2002. “Persepolis in Retrospect: histories of

discovery and Archaeological Exploration of Ancient Parseh”,

Ars Orientalis, Volume 32, pp. 209 - 251.

Vaux, william Sandys wright, 1855. Nineveh and Persepolis:

Sketch of Ancient Assyria and Persia, Arthur hall, Virtue, and co.

Publishers, London.

whitcomb, donald, 1979. “The city of istakhr and the Marvdasht

Plain”, Archaeologische Mitteilungen aus Iran, Ergänzungsband 6,

pp. 363 - 370.

gatEofallnations, PERSEPOLiS, 5Th cENTURy BcE. PhOTO: KOUROSh MOhAMMEd KhANi

15TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3 15

n the 6th century BCE the AchaemenidPersians,anIndo-Iraniantribeandformer

vassals of theMedes, became the new rulersof the Ancient Near East, founding the firstIranian empire. For roughly 200 years, fromabout550to330BCE,CyrusII(theGreat)andhissuccessorscontrolledthelargestterritoryintheancientworldbeforetheadventofRome.DuringthereignofDariusI(c.522-486BCE),PersiandominanceextendedfromLibyainthewesttotheIndusRiverintheeast.ThePersiankings constructed new cities and palaces instrategic imperial centres, including Babylon,Pasargadae, Susa, and Ecbatana. But it isPersepolis,themasterpieceofDariusI,whichbecametheheartoftheempire.Its imposing,sophisticatedmonumentsrepresenttheheightofancientIranianartandarchitecture,andareatributetoAchaemenidroyalideology.

The brilliance of Persepolis is in its subtleappropriation of the symbols of conqueredlands.ThePersianswererelativenewcomersto Iran, and with no known traditions ofmonumental art and architecture, theyengaged the talents of foreign craftsmen tobuild their imperial palaces. This approachnot only created a distinct multi-nationalstyle, but also promoted a sense of inter-nationalism, a visual culture celebrating thedisparatetraditionsofanimmenserealm.

Achaemenid royal inscriptions andadministrative texts tell us little about thebelief systems, rituals, and court life ofthis period, which leaves many questionsconcerning the function and symbolismof Persepolis and its sculptures, whilemagnifying the importance of the visualrecord.WhateverthePersiankingsintendedtoconvey,thecomplexreformulationofNearEastern iconography reveals aunique socio-political philosophy, and a revolutionaryapproach to imperial identity-making in theancientworld.

The dominant theme of Persepolis is thetribute procession, an ancient Near Easternidiomofreligiouscelebrationorroyalvictory.AlthoughIranianorElamiteprocessionsmayhavehad somebearinguponDarius’ choiceof subject matter (Porada 1965: fig. 41), thePersepolisreliefsaremostheavilyinfluencedby works from imperial Neo-Assyria. TheNeo-Assyrian kings (9th to 7th centuriesBCE) left an indelible legacy of imperialart—perhaps the most dynamic display of

imperial strength in the ancient Near East(Barnett 1982). Theirpalaces atNimrud andNineveh were decorated with monumentalwall reliefs narrating the king’s duties andachievements, and most famously, battlecampaigns illustrating the details of theassault and the enemy’s ignominious fate.Assyrian processions were typically “afterthebattle”scenes,showingvassalsdeliveringtribute-gifts, soldiers bringing booty andprisonerstotheking,ordeportedpeoplesonforcedmarchtootherpartsoftheempire.Thereliefsweredesignedtoinstilfearandawe—by depicting what happened to rebelliouskingdoms that dared to challenge the king,viewersmightbedissuadedfromconspiringagainsttheAssyriancrown.

The Achaemenids emulated the majesty oftheAssyriansculptures,borrowingimagesofthekingenthroned,battlingfiercebeastsandreceivingtributeinceremonialprocessions.YettheAchaemenidversionsaresymbolic ratherthan literal, abbreviations of royal idiomsliftedfromtheiroriginalnarrativecontext.Therealitiesofimperialconquest,suchaswarfare,forced submission, and the extraction ofmaterialresourcesdonotappearintheknownsculptures of Achaemenid palaces. With thepossible exception of a monument erectedearly inDarius’ reign - theBehistun relief intheHamadanmountainpass(Porada1965:fig.77)-thereisacontinuous,consciouseffortinAchaemenid court sculpture to show subjectnationsas loyalsupportersratherthanasthe

enemy.ForthefirsttimeinthehistoryofNearEasternart,amonarchseemstohaveinitiatedadecorativeprogram centredon cooperativerelationsbetweenrulerandruled,“elevating”thestatusoftheconquered.

Darius’ message is conveyed through thebody language, gifts, and accoutrements ofroyal courtiers and foreign peoples, and intheir interactions with one another. At theApadana,thelargestandhighestpalaceofthePersepolisprecinct,grandtributeprocessionsgrace two sets ofmonumental stairways onthenorthernandeasternsidesofthebuilding.On the left side of each stairway are rowsof gift-bearing delegations representing theconquered peoples of the empire. Medianand Persian ushers grasp the hand of eachleading delegate, guiding the group towardtheir royal audience The nationality of eachdelegationiscarefullydistinguishedbymodeofdress;hatsandhairstylesaloneareusefulindicators of ethnicity. The gifts borne byeach group are also specific to their landand special skills. Almost all of the gifts,includingjewellery,goldvessels,andtextiles,correspond to actual objects found in theremains of the Persepolis Treasury, and inarchaeological finds like the well-knownOxusTreasure(Porada1965:173-4,184).

The climactic processional relief, onceseen in mirror image in the centre of theApadana staircases, featured the enthronedkingawaitinghisguests.Herewewitnessthe

I

l o v E t h y n E i g h b o r : t h E i n t i m a t E a r t o f d i P l o m a C y i n

t h E P E r s E P o l i s P r o C E s s i o n a l s C u l P t u r E s

Stephanie Reed mEdEsandPErsiansaPProaChthEroyalthronEroom, PERSEPOLiS, 5Th cENTURy BcE, STONE RELiEF. © ORiENTAL iNSTiTUTE, chicAGO

16 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

first usher, in Median dress, bowing beforeDarius and the crowned prince Xerxes, wholooks on from behind the throne. TheMedeis bent slightly at the waist, his fingertipsshieldinghismouthinagestureofobeisance.Hishead,however, istiltedupward,meetingthe eye of his sovereign. The scene signalsthe introduction of the first delegation, yetthe absence of any foreign group suggeststhat none are especially favoured, and allwould have the opportunity to present theirgifts directly. This can be contrasted withAssyrian gift processions, inwhich a row ofcourt officials traditionally buffers the kingandhis foreign tributaries.At thesame time,the “genericism” of the Achaemenid versionmarkstheexclusivityoftheking,hisheir,andattendants of his inner court, who representtheonlyotherfiguresinthescene.Variationsofthisimagearefoundthroughouttheempireon cylinder seals. It seems to have been afavouriteofambitiousprovincialofficials, foritwas synonymouswith royal authority andsuggestedclosetiestotheking.

TheprocessionalsculpturesontherightsideofApadanastaircasesrepresentthoseclosesttotheking,orthepeoplesofIran.Theroyalentourage includes lance-bearing Susianguards, groomsmen, charioteers, and localdignitariesdressedalternatelyinPersianrobesandMedianridinghabitsThesenoblemen,orPeers,donotcarrygifts,butceremoniallotusbudsandblossoms,anancientNearEasternemblem of special status. Lotus blossomswere normally the symbols of gods andrulers;inNeo-Assyrianart,forinstance,onlykingsare shownwith the flower (egBarnett1982:105).AtPersepolis,however,itisborne

byboththerulerandprivilegedmembersofhiscourtand/orthemembersofhisextendedfamily. It may be seen as a token of royalallegiance and kinship, and the importanceof the court structure that supported thePersian monarchy. The alternating MedianandPersiancostumesalsosuggesttheunitedstrength of the Aryan (Iranian) peoplesand the imperial core, in the same waythat Assyrian art highlights alliances withBabylon, the cultural heart ofMesopotamia,and the Egyptians intertwined the symbolsof Upper and Lower Egypt, illustrating theunificationofthetwolands.

The special connection between the Medesand Persians is emphasised by their bodylanguage. Often they are clasping hands, orone is turned toward the peer behind him,giving or acknowledging a touch upon theshoulder. The intimate gestures betweensubjects are oneof themost striking featuresoftheAchaemenidprocessions,andhavebeenlargely reinterpreted from the pious imageryof Mesopotamia and Egypt. The graspingof hands, for instance, is found in Egyptianfunerary art, where a line of supplicants orlesser deities wait to greet the gods of theunderworld(Root1979:pls.LXIV,LXV).

In Mesopotamian “introduction” scenes, apopular cylinder seal motif, a petitioner isled into the presence of a god through anintermediaryorlesserdeity.Intheseimages,however, the intermediary will usuallygrasp the petitioner by the wrist, ratherthan by the hand as seen in the Apadanareliefs. There are no intermediary deitiesin Achaemenid art; the petitioners, or gift-

bearers, are led into the presence of thekingbytheirIranianhosts.SimilarlyintimateandconversationalgesturesareperhapsbestknowninprocessionalGreeksculpture,mostfamously in the Parthenon marbles, whichdate over a half-century after the foundingof Persepolis. While Greek sculptors werelikelyemployedatPersepolis,itisdifficulttoestablishthepathofinfluence.Certainly,thisethos of camaraderie between ruling elites,andbetweenrulingandsubjectpeoples,wasan innovation in the Near Eastern imperialcontext(Boardman2000;Root1985).

The cooperative message of the Apadanaprocessionsiscomplementedby“atlas”motifsofAchaemenidsubjectsplacedinthedoorwaysoftheThroneHall,or“Hallof100Columns”,and on the royal tombs of Naqsh-i Rustam(Root 1979: Pl. XIII, 13a; XI). The uppermostpanelsoftheThroneHallreliefsareabbreviatedaudience scenes, showing the king enthronedattended by a single fan-bearer. The threepanelsbeneathformanimitationof thethree-tiered legs of the throne above, supportedby three rows of atlas figures representingvarious peoples of the empire. This motif islikely borrowed fromNeo-Assyrian reliefs, inwhichSennacherib’sthronestruts,forinstance,were supported by the repetition of a singleatlantidfigureinAssyriandress(Root1979:pl.XLII). Near Eastern kings commonly showeddefeated peoples underfoot (Strommenger1962: figs. 138, 39), and although the Persianthrone-bearers are clearly subordinate to theirsovereign, the peoples of the Achaemenidrealm,onceagainintheirindividualcostumes,are depicted with arms lifted, carrying theirrulerasaunifiednation.

thEKingaWaitingaPProaChingambassadors, PERSEPOLiS, 5Th cENTURy BcE, STONE RELiEF. © ORiENTAL iNSTiTUTE, chicAGO

17TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3 17

InancientNearEasternart,portrayalsofkingand subject were ubiquitous, refined overthemillennia throughwarfareandexchangeof ideas. Subject nations were traditionallydepicted as the enemy - weaker peopleswith lesser gods, and rightfully subject tothe conqueror. Tributary processions werea common medium for illustrating foreignconquests. The context of these scenes, aswell as the humbled postures and pleadinggestures of individual figures, typicallyconveyed forced submission. The properbodylanguageforforeignprocessionsinthetime ofAshurnasirpal II ofAssyria (883-859BCE), for instance, was a slight stoop andraised, supplicating hands. Moreover, thebody posture or use of social perspectivefurtherdistinguished“Us”(therulingbody)and“Them”(theruled).

ThePersepolissubjects,whennotinthedirectpresence of the king, are always depictederect, and with the exception of the kingand crowned prince, the figures are all thesame height.Whether the subject is bearingtribute-gifts or making a sign of respect,the formal placement of his hands impartsreverence rather than fear. The use of localushersasprocessionalguidesimpartsasenseof community, and implies that the foreign

delegations(bymeritoftheirgifts,orsymbolsofloyalty)werealsoapartof,ormightaspireto,theeliteranksoftheking’sPeers.

ThePersepolisprogrammightbesummarisedaspersuasiveratherthancoercive:itsuggeststhat devoted subjects were treated withdignity, that each individual’s identity andspecialskillswerevalued,evenessentialtotheunifiedwhole,andthegeneralbenevolenceofAchaemenid rule.This isnot to say that thePersianmonarchywaslessautocraticthanitsNearEasternpredecessors;taxesandtribute-giftswere required fromvassalnations,andthe Persianswere atwarwithGreecewhilePersepoliswasunderconstruction.

Yet while Persepolis couches the realitiesof imperialism in a political encomium,history also testifies to an ethnically diverseAchaemenidempire,whereforeigncustoms,cults, and local governments flourishedalongside a competitive system of loyaltyandreward;oneinwhichexemplaryserviceto the crown, even by non-Persians, wasrecognized with lavish gifts such as lands,titles (including “The King’s Friend”), andpersonal adornments in the Persian courtstyle (Briant 2002: 347ff.). Persepolis reflectsthis administrative approach through subtle

changes in human action and interaction,creating an idyllic vision of internationalcollaboration, unity-in-diversity, and anasymmetrical, yet mutually beneficial bondbetweenakingandhispeoples.

Stephanie Reed is a Phd candidate studying

Achaemenid art at the University of chicago.

rEfErEnCEsBriant, Pierre. 2002. From Cyrus to Alexander: A History of the

Persian Empire, winona Lake, Eisenbrauns, indiana.

Barnett, R. d. 1982/1960 (rev. w. Forman et al.). Assyrian Palace

Reliefs and their Influence on the Sculptures of Babylonia and

Persia, Batchworth Press, London.

Boardman, John. 2000. Persia and the West: An Archaeological

Investigation of the Genesis of Achaemenid Art, Thames and

hudson, London.

Porada, Edith. 1965. The Art of Ancient Iran, crown, New york.

Root, Margaret cool. 1979. The King and Kingship in

Achaemenid Art: Essays on the creation of an iconography of

Empire. Acta Iranica 19, E. J. Brill, Leiden.

_____. 1985. The Parthenon Frieze and the Apadana Reliefs at

Persepolis: Reassessing a Programmatic Relationship. American

Journal of Archaeology 89:1, centennial issue (Jan., 1985),

103-120.

Strommenger, Eva. 1964. 5000 years of the Art of Mesopotamia,

harry N. Abrams New york.

We offer over 20 study tours each year, of which the following scheduled during 2010 and 2011, may be of interest to TAASA members.

LAOS19 NOVEMBER – 11 DECEMBER 2010Led by Gay Spies this tour takes you inside the culture of the gentle Lao and includes the annual That Luang Festival in Vientiane, an extended stay in Luang Prabang and an overnight in a local house to experience true Lao hospitality.Land Only per person, twin share: $4,695

BURMA: LAND OF TEMPLES25 JANUARY – 09 FEBRUARYTAASA member Terry Bisley leads this comprehensive exploration of a troubled country whose people have undergone so much misery because of political circumstances. Visit bustlingYangon, Sittwe and Mrauk U, Bagan, Heho, Inle Lake, Indein, Kakku, Mandalay, Amarapura and Mingun. Land Only per person, twin share: 4,840

EGYPT: FROM ALEXANDRIA TO ABU SIMBEL07 - 28 FEBRUARY 2011This comprehensive tour of Egypt includes cruising from Luxor to Aswan, for the Luxor temples and Valleys of Kings and Queens. You will also visit Abu Simbel. Time to explore the ancient sites around Cairo but also the Islamic Cairo as well. Visit Alexandria’s UNESCO Library and travel to the fabulous Siwa Oasis. The tour is led by Melanie Pitkin.Land Only price per person, twin share: $7,495

TUNISIA AND LIBYA02-22 MARCH 2011In Tunisia explore some of the best Roman sites in North Africa including Dougga, El Djem, Bulla Regia and Sbeitla, but also take in mosques, soukhs, and Kairouan, the fourth holiest city in Islam. In Libya,

visit Sabratha, Leptis Magna Ptolmais and Cyrene and some WW11 sites. Tour leader is Leonie Hayne.Land Only price per person, twin share: $5,740

TURKEY: LURE OF THE EAST21 MAY - 09 JUNE 2011From Turkey's lush Black Sea coast, through dense pine forests and hidden valleys, this tour visits some of Turkey's most dramatic scenery. Even more striking are the layers of civilisation revealed here,including Gobleki Tepe, a religious sanctuary dating from c9000BC. Also includes Trabzon, Erzerum, Kars, Dogu Beyazit, Van, Mardin, Sanliurfa, Gaziantep, Antakya and Adana. Tour is led by Rob Lovell.Land Only price per person, twin share: $6,995

SRI LANKA: AN ADVENTURE IN SERENDIPITY23 MAY - 13 JUNE 2011Sri Lanka's Buddhist legacy of dagobas, relic fortresses, statues and temples awaits to be explored along with national parks, colonial architecture, tea plantations and elephant orphanages. Bawa officionados will be satisfied. John Barclay will be your tour leader. Land Only per person, twin share: $4,975

KOREA: NORTH AND SOUTH06 - 24 SEPTEMBER 2011Compare both the Communist north and the extremely capitalist south of this riven nation. By train from the Chinese border into Pyongyang with local touring and one of the spectacular parades. In the south explore the three great dynasties, the beautiful autumn colours of the mountains on the eastern side of the peninsula and the unique cuisine. Tour is led by Simon Gentry.Land Only per person, twin share: $8570

IRANNOVEMBER 2011John Tidmarsh (Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation) leads his second tour to Iran for us, exploring pre-historic sites, the cities of the Persians and Sassanians, whose sophisticated society challenged the Byzantines and laid the foundations for an advanced Islamic succession. Includes fabled Isfahan and Shiraz.Land Only per person, twin share: $TBA

For a brochure on any of the above tours, or to receive our quarterly newsletter Bon Voyage, please phone: (02) 9290 3856 or 1300 799 887 (outside Sydney metrop.), fax: (02) 9290 3857, e-mail: robl@alumnitravel.com.au; www.alumnitravel.com.au

18 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

he Sasanian dynasty (224 – 654 CE)represents a new golden age in Iranian

civilization,emergingmorethanfivecenturiesafter the fall of theAchaemenianEmpire (330BCE). The Sasanians started their expansionfromIstakhrcity, locatedabout fivekmnorthof the ruined cityofPersepolis.Ardeshir (224– 240 CE), the founder and first king of thedynasty,conqueredthelandsofamultitudeofneighbouring rulers andwith the final defeatof the Parthian king Artaban V in the Battleof Hormozdgan (location unknown), all ofParthianterritorycameunderSasaniancontrol.Someof themost famousSasaniankings, likeShapurIandIIandKhosroIandII,extendedthe borders of the empire fromwestern IndiaandAfghanistanintheeasttoIraqinthewest.TheSasanianEmpirelastedformorethanfourcenturiesuntiltheendoftheArabinvasions.

During the Sasanian period, Iranian cultureandtraditionsagainstartedtoevolveafteralong depression under the Parthians (c. 147BCE-224CE).Sasaniantextiles,metallurgy,and glass manufacturing gained a strongreputationamongstcontemporariesandthesecrafts were exported to the farthest pointsof the knownworld.However, one ofmostinnovativefieldsofartintheSasanianperiodwasinoneofthemosttraditionalmediums-rockreliefpanels.

Todayabout30Sasanianrockreliefpanelsareknownfromthe landsof theirempire.Morethan80%oftheseartworksarelocatedinFarsProvince(southernIran),thehomelandofthedynasty.OtherimportantworksarefoundatTaq-e Bostan inKermanshah (Western Iran)andatSalmas(northwestIran)andarecentlydiscoveredreliefinAfghanistan.Themajorityofthesereliefpanelswerecarvedduringthe1st century of Sasanian rule (between 224and309CE).Themost importantsubjectsofthesecarvingsare investiturescenes,victoryscenes over Sasanian enemies, especiallyRomans, and the king with dignitaries andhisfamily.ThisarticlewillreviewthesereliefpanelschronologicallyfromtheEarlytoLateSasanianperiod.

Approximately50kmsouthofShiraz(moderncapital of FarsProvince),Ardeshirbuilt a cityandapalaceatFiruzabadbeforetheoverthrowoftheParthiankingsin224CE.Nearthisnewcity, he chose a huge flat rock in the TangabGorge and commissioned the carving of theBattleofHormozdgan.Theactualbattleisnot

depictedbutthereliefshowsArdeshir,hissonShapurIandoneofhisnoblesatthemomenteachhasdefeatedhisParthianadversary.Therelief is carved rather flat ina styleknownas“line drawing” and has often been comparedwithsimilarpanelsfromtheParthiandynastyatTang-eSarvak(BakhtiariMountains,southwestIran)andKermanshah(westernIran).HowevertheTangabreliefismoredetailedthanpreviousParthianexamples,showingahigherdegreeofartisticdevelopment.Thecostumes,headdress,weaponsandinsigniaoftheindividualfiguresand of their mounts are treated carefully.The sculptors do not represent their fallenadversaries convincingly but the overallimpressionofthesceneiseffective.

Three other relief panels of Ardeshir showinvestiturescenes.InthehistoryofNearEasternArt,Sasanianinvestiturescenesmayrepresentthe last and most complex examples of anancienttradition.TheSasanianexamplesshowaveryintimateconnectionbetweentheconceptofkingshipandgod.Inpreviousperiods,godsweredepicteddifferently fromkingsbutheretheirmannerisms are very similar. Because ofthis similarity there is still occasional debateaboutwhichfigureisagodandwhichaking.Indeed, one of themain sources for Ferdosi’sepic, the Shahnameh (History of Kings) wasthe Khodaye Namak (Letter of God), whichshowstheequalsituationofgodandkings intheSasanianperiod.

Intheseinvestiturescenes,thekingandgodareshownaseitherstandingormountedon

horseback, symmetrically as mirror images,and the kings often receive the beribboneddiadem,thedivinesymbolofpowerfromthehandofthegodsAhuraMazdaorAnahita.

Even in the lifetime of Ardeshir, Sasanianreliefartshoweddramaticdevelopment.Theexample at Firuzabad is crude and rigid,whilst the twootherpanels (one atNaqsh-eRajab and Naqsh-e Rustam) are more fluidin style. At Naqsh-e Rajab, the flat panel isreplaced by a greater sense of depth, withmembers of the court gathered around towatchArdeshir takingaberibboneddiademfromthehandofAhuraMazda.

Ardeshir’sNaqsh-eRustaminvestituresceneisoneofthemostmagnificentcarvingsfromthe1st centuryofSasanian rule.Apart fromthehighqualityofcarving,itisalsothefirsttime that god andking are shownmountedon their horses in theAncientNear Easternrock relief tradition. This relief shows onefigure handing the beribboned diadem ofkingship to theotherwithdefeatedenemieslyingdeadbesidethem.Prior to thereadingof the trilingual inscription carved on thehorses’ shoulders, various interpretations ofthis scene had been proposed. For instancesome travellers such as SirWilliamOuseley(Ouseley1819, I,285-6;1821, II,294)andSirRobert Ker Porter (1821 I: 556-7) suggestedthe subject of this relief as a handover ofpowerbyArdeshirtohissonShapurIratherthanasaninvestiturescene.

s a s a n i a n r o C K r E l i E f Pa n E l s

Ali Asadi

T

thEbattlEofhormozgan, TANGAB GORGE, SOUThERN iRAN, c. 224 cE, ROcK RELiEF. PhOTO: ALi ASAdi

19TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

Technically,thereliefisverydeep,resemblingsculpture in the round. The symmetricalgesture of the god and Ardeshir and thecalmnessoftheirhorsesstandingfacetofacecreate a serene composition. The concept ofdivine kingship was an old tradition in theAncient Near East. Seleucids (c. 305 - 147BCE)andParthiansdepicteddivinityontheircoinsandsealswith imagesofNike,Mithraand Anahita as gods or goddess of war orvictory (Shepherd 1983:1080).Ardeshir usedthe concept of divine right to affirm hisruleover thecountry. Indeed, thesymbolofdoublesnakeheadsisshownontheforeheadof an enemy lying beside Ahura Mazda’shorse.ThesesnakesarealinktothelegendaryhistoryofZahhak,anevilkingwhogrewtwosnakesonhisshoulders.

Shapur I (240 – 272 CE), son of Ardeshir,defeated three Roman emperors andcommemorated these victories with sevenrock relief panels at three different sitesin Fars Province (southern Iran). Near toShapur I’s new city of Bishapur there is anarrow gorge called Tang-e Chugan, whichpreserves a major group of relief panels.The main subjects of these carvings are thethree defeated Roman emperors: GordionIII, Philip the Arab and Valerian. They arerespectively shown slain, kneeling andcaptured(Ghirshman1962:159).Whiletypical

SasaniancompositionalformsfirstdevelopedunderArdeshir,ShapurI introducedRomanimperial iconography inhisdesigns.Duringhisvictories,ShapurIcapturedmanyRomansculptorswhowereforcedtoworkintheroyalworkshops.The laterreliefpanelsofShapurshowingemperorValerian(i.e.after260CE)representahighpoint inSasanian reliefs: intheir vitality and sense of movement, theirincreased detail and richness of decorationand their elaborate and lavish treatment ofthe folds of the diaphanous garments. Thebillowinggarmentseffectivelysuggestasenseof arrested motion: one can easily imaginethat Shapur’s horse has suddenly stoppeddeadas thedesperatePhilip rushes forwardtobegformercy(Shepherd1983:1084).

Itisstillnoteasytounderstandwhooriginallydesigned Shapur I’s relief panels. If Romansculptors composed these works, then theyignored classical western standards such asproportionality and the realistic depiction ofmotion. For example, the defeated Valerianstanding at the king’s side is reduced to lessthan normal size. Instead these scenes adheretotime-honouredNearEasternconceptswherestressisplacedonsymbolicvaluesoverrealism(Shepherd 1983:1084). In this case, Iranianartists probably designed the outlines of therelief panels and the Roman sculptors wereusedastechnicianstoworkonthedetails.

AfterShapurI, thedevelopmentofSasanianreliefcarvingcontinuedforafewgenerationsbefore it started a long period of decline.Bahram I’s (273 – 276CE)divine equestrianinvestiture scenes at Bishapur and SarMashhad,andBahramII’s(276–293CE)reliefshowingthesubmissionofanArabdelegation,are the last examplesof considerableartisticvalue. Themain subject of subsequent reliefpanels was jousting, such as Narseh’s (293

thEmountEdKingandgodWithEnEmiEsundErfoot, NAQSh-E RUSTAM, 3Rd cENTURy cE, ROcK RELiEF. PhOTO: ALi ASAdi

huntingsCEnE,TAQ-E BOSTAN, wESTERN iRAN, LATE 6Th/EARLy

7Th cENTURy cE, ROcK RELiEF. PhOTO: TOBiN hARTNELL

20 TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

– 302CE) andHormozd II’s (302 – 309CE)panelsatNaqsh-eRustam.Theselaterworksare not considered as important artistically,compared to the achievements of ArdeshirandShapurI.

InthefollowingthreecenturiesafterHormozdII,thereareonlythreereliefpanelscreatedandnoneshowanydevelopmentinthequalityoftheir carving. Themost likely reason is thatthe centre of the Sasanian Empire movedto Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). The newcapital of Ctesiphon stood near the Romanfrontier,awayfromtheZagrosMountainsorothercomparable ranges. It appears that theEarly Sasanian relief panels were replacedby stucco art in these centuries,with artistsusing plaster to create relief sculpture forurbancontexts.

In this period, under Ardeshir II (379 – 383CE), the site of Taq-e Bostan (near modernKermanshah,westernIran)wasselectedforanewseriesof rockreliefpanels.Thecarvingsof Taq-e Bostan overlook an important largespring, situatedon theoldsilk tradingroute.UnderShapur III (383– 388CE), anartificialcavewascreatedintheshapeofanaivan(openarchway).Onthebackwallofthissmallcave,Shapur III is shown standing by his father.Twocenturies later,Khosro II (590–628CE)significantlyexpandedthesiteofTaq-eBostanby creating a larger cave; the facade showsRoman-inspireddesignswithtwogreatangels

floating over the spandrels of the arch andacanthusleavesframingthelowerportion.

Inside Khosro II’s cave are preserved twoseemingly unrelated motifs. The upperscene shows the king receiving a diademfrom Anahita (Fukai & Horiuchi 1972: pls.IV, XXIII-XXIV) and from Ahura Mazda.Beneath the king and gods is a mail-cladknightonhorseback,whoappearstoprotectthe investiture scene. The sidewalls of thegrotto were covered with scenes of royalhunts. The one on the left takes place in aparadise, surrounded by hedges. The kingstandserectinaboatshootingatwildboars.On the right wall is a stag hunt, with thekingonhorseback,surroundedbymusiciansandsingers(Ghirshman,1962:193).ThereliefcarvingcombinesthetraditionalboldreliefofEarlySasanianartwithanewfine,detailed,lowreliefusedtotellthestoryofthehunt.

Khosro II’s monument at Taq-e Bostan isoneof themost significant latermonumentsof Sasanian art. However the monument’smeaning has never been fully interpreted.Traditionally,thesceneshavebeenconsideredas aminiature pleasure palace inwhich theprincipalmotifs were the king’s investiture,his portrait as a knight on his favouritesteed,andhuntingscenesrepresentingroyalpastimes (Shepherd 1983:1086). Collectively,they show the rich complexity of Sasaniansociety,art,andgovernment.

This final stage of Sasanian relief carvingunder Khosro II represented a consciousrevival of an ancient Sasanian art form andshows a renewed mastery of the medium,with both bold and delicate compositionscreatedside-by-side.

Ali Asadi works at the Parsa-Pasargadae Research

foundation and is a Phd student of Tarbiat Modares

University (Tehran).

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anne‚es 1840 et 1841: Perse Ancienne I, Paris. (publisher?)

Fukai Sh and K. horiuchi, 1969, 1972. Taq-I Bustan I-II, Tokyo.

Sh. Fukai, J. Sugiyama, K. Kimata and K. Tanabe, Taq-i Bustan III,

Tokyo, 1983. Sh. Fukai, K. horiuchi, (?)

Ghirshman, R, 1962. Iran. Parthians and Sassanians, Trans. by

Stuart Gilbert and James Emmons, Paris, (publisher?)

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Ancient Babylonia, etc. during the years 1817, 1818, 1819 and

1820, London. (publisher?)

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particularly Persia, London, 1819-1821. (date of publication,

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valErianPlEadsformErCy,NAQSh-E RUSTAM, c.260 cE, ROcK RELiEF. PhOTO: ALi ASAdi

21TA A S A R E V i E w V O L U M E 1 9 N O . 3

i n t h E P u b l i C d o m a i n : A P E R S i A N S h A h N A M A F O L i O F R O M T h E N G V

Susan Scollay

his year marks the 1000th anniversaryof