Arrowhead
This is a bronze socketed trilobate (i.e., ‘three-bladed’) javelin head. It is about twice the size of an arrowhead, but too small to be a spearhead. It was 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 this spearhead probably dates to this period of later use.
Artwork Details
- Title: Arrowhead
- Date: ca. 4th century BCE
- Geography: Iran, Pasargadae
- Culture: Seleucid
- Medium: Bronze
- Dimensions: 2 3/8 × 7/16 in. (6 × 1.1 cm)
- Credit Line: Purchase, H. Dunscombe Colt Gift, 1978
- Object Number: 1978.93.17
- Curatorial Department: Ancient West Asian Art
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Iran
ca. 10th–8th century BCE
Iran
ca. 8th century BCE
Achaemenid
ca. 5th century BCE
Iran
1st millennium BCE
ca. early 1st millennium BCE
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