Arrowhead

ca. 1st–2nd century A.D
Not on view
This is a bronze socketed trilobate (i.e., ‘three-bladed’) arrowhead. It was excavated at Yarim Tepe in northeastern Iran, six miles south of the modern town of Gonbad-e Kavus. Yarim Tepe was a small settlement, inhabited from the Neolithic to the Parthian period, with many interruptions. Trilobate arrowheads were once associated with the Scythians and Cimmerians, nomadic peoples from the Eurasian steppe who invaded the Near East in the 8th century B.C. However, this type of arrowhead appears far and wide in space and time, indicating it was widely used in the ancient Near East, doubtless on account of its efficacy at piercing armor. Since it was found in the earliest level at Yarim Tepe along with Parthian pottery, this arrowhead is most likely of Parthian date. The Parthians were famed in antiquity as archers, and gave their name to the ‘Parthian shot,’ a tactic in which a mounted archer rides away from his enemy while firing arrows at him.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Arrowhead
  • Period: Parthian
  • Date: ca. 1st–2nd century A.D
  • Geography: Iran, Yarim Tepe
  • Culture: Parthian
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: 1 1/4 × 3/8 in. (3.2 × 1 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, H. Dunscombe Colt Gift, 1963
  • Object Number: 63.102.6
  • Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art

More Artwork

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.