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Sep 3, 2022 10 tweets 6 min read Read on X
8 Sasanian-style textiles with royal themes

هشت نمونه از منسوجات سبک ساسانی با بن‌ مایه شاهانه

First one: Peacocks, Silk, Iranian, from Aachen Cathedral treasure, Germany: this one isn't exactly "royal" in style, I just love the design!

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2: The famous design: 5-6 C, from Egypt, clear Sasanian design though possibly local production.

At least 2 surviving pieces: @ Musée des Tissus, Lyon &
@MuseeLouvre (2-3), possibly showing King Khosrau II fighting Ethiopian forces in Yemen

⤵️ https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010045629
The surviving piece @MuseeLouvre has a very Sasanian-looking soldier doing a Parthian shot! Can't get more Iranian and Sasanian than that!

Also see: iranicaonline.org/articles/sasan…

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3: Another fragmentary textile, which is said to come from Egypt and is now part of the Benaki Museum in Athens, could also be related to the same group (Compareti, 2005a) [Iranica]

"All these details would suggest that the fragment from...

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the Benaki Museum could be a real product of pre-Islamic Persia, but very late, since, as already noted, the decoration on the clothes of the larger figure is very similar to those of the statues and capitals at Tāq-e Bostān." [Iranica, Compareti]

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4: Likely post-Sasanian but with similar design and motifs, Museo Sacro, Vatican, 8th C

We have similar designs in Iranian carpets, rugs... to this day!

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5: Multiple pieces showing the same hunting scene, 2 examples here:

1: 7th C, @metmuseum
2: 500-700, from Egypt, @V_and_A

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6: Another hunting scene, post-Sasanian, 9th C, but similar motifs to pre-Islamic Iran, including the famous lion-bull combat scene

@GWTextileMuseum

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7: Another hunting scene : 8th C, Sasanian or Sogdian

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8: King on his throne, Iran or Central Asia, 7-8 C, David Collection

Very clear #Sasanian, Iranian design, even if this is an imitation of an original

See previous thread on thrones in ancient Iran too:

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More from @PersiaAntigua

Sep 15, 2024
Origin of the Sasanians?

Please forgive me, but I'm getting excited here... I may have connected some dots that were left unconnected before... Image
1: In "Ardashir and the Sasanians' Rise to Power" by Dr. @tourajdaryaee & "ReOrienting the Sasanians" by Dr. @sasanianshah I did not see these connections.

2: For some reason various sources note the name of a "Indo-Parthian" ruler as "Sasan", for example ...
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in "Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art":

and "The interrelation between Indo-Parthian and Kushan chronology", 1992. This second article seems to provide some clues:

3: if the chronology @ Taxila is accepted, we in fact have an interesting... cvaonline.org/PublicFiles/me…

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Read 9 tweets
Sep 14, 2024
Detailed Study: Let's talk about this important motif & standard in ancient Iran 🧵⤵️ Image
Here's the deal: 1: various Iranian groups, like others in Eurasia, used various standards or banners in war

2: like others in Eurasia, Indo-European or not, Iranians valued various types of crosses for thousands of years, including the "swastika" ... 4000-3500 BCE, Susa, Louvre
3: In ancient Iran, various clans, parts of the army etc. had their own standards & symbols. But we can perhaps say 3 stand out:

1: largely in Achaemenid period; 2: with a long history
3: dragon standard: largely among eastern-northern Iranians (Sarmatians, Parthians, etc.) ...

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Read 35 tweets
Mar 30, 2024
Rhytons are rather rare in Sasanian Iran. But one known shape shared with others in Central Asia as well is the compact horn & gazelle's head protome

This one only entered the Smithsonian in the 80s, though it was known since the 60s ... ⤵️ https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_S1987.33/
Based on the analysis in "Ancient Iranian metalwork in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and the Freer Gallery of Art" it's likely early Sasanian

In any event, similar ones were used for centuries in West & Central Asia

Partho-Sasanian rhyton, excavated @ Babylon ... Image
Rhyton in private collection, Russia ... Image
Read 7 tweets
Jan 7, 2024
Achaemenid amphora & amphora-rhytons

Depiction: Armenian delegation, Persepolis

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Other depictions @ Persepolis:

1: Armenian
2: Lydian
4: Medes


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Amphora with griffin handles, Karaburun ...
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Read 15 tweets
Sep 13, 2023
Some additional notes on Sasanian instruments, from the MP text Khosrow and Ridak:

A) This instrument is the barbat (with later changes called oud (photo 3)), not "win"/ ون, I made detailed notes on it in multiple threads



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B) Some sources note "win" and "win-kenār" are types of harp, e.g.,

بررسی ابزار موسیقی دوره ی ساسانی بر پایه ی متن پهلوی خسرو قبادان و ریدگ

Although some sources note these could be instruments from India

Azarnouche translates the first 3 to French as... Image
"Le joueur de (petite) harpe, le joueur de harpe (droite?), le joueur de lyre"

C) An interesting consideration is this: could we use the maxim of interpretation/ construction Noscitur a Sociis: “know a thing by its associates”?

It would make sense for tambur and barbat Image
Read 7 tweets
Jun 18, 2023
Achaemenid Royal Audience Scene, inside shield of Persian soldier on so-called 'Alexander Sarcophagus'

4th C BCE, from Sidon, @ Istanbul Archaeology Museums, Photos: Fluorescent UV & Reconstruction

⤵️ Imagehttps://www.metmuseum.org/a...
An older drawing without some of the details (1);

There are parallels, precedents to #Achaemenid royal scenes in Assyrian, Elamite, other Near Eastern art. Drawing in photo 2 for example is likely of an older, Elamite seal which continued to be used in Achaemenid court

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We see examples of this royal audience scene @ Persepolis, here reconstructed from the fuller image @ Apadana, and another modern recreation @ Zinat al-Molk House

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Read 9 tweets

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