Armor scales
These three rows of overlapping iron scales, now badly corroded, are attached to a poorly preserved leather backing. They were once part of a piece of armor, most likely a breastplate. According to the Greek historian Herodotus (7.61.1), the Persian soldier’s in King Xerxes’ army in 480 B.C. wore armor ‘looking like the scales of a fish.’ They were excavated at the Tall-i Takht at Pasargadae, about 55 miles northeast of Shiraz, Iran. Pasargadae was founded by Cyrus the Great (reigned ca. 550-530 B.C.) as the first capital of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. The Tall-i Takht is an elevated platform that was presumably intended as the site of Cyrus’ palace. In later years it served as a fortified citadel, and these scales probably date to this period of later use.
Artwork Details
- Title: Armor scales
- Date: ca. 4th century BCE
- Geography: Iran, Pasargadae
- Culture: Achaemenid
- Medium: Iron, leather
- Dimensions: 2.76 x 5.28 in. (7.01 x 13.41 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, H. Dunscombe Colt Gift, 1978
- Object Number: 1978.93.15
- Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art
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Achaemenid
ca. 5th century BCE
Achaemenid
ca. 6th–4th century BCE
Iran
ca. 7th–6th century BCE
Iran
ca. 10th–8th century BCE
Iran
ca. early 1st millennium BCE
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