New Evidence for the Origins of a Royal Copper Head from the Ancient Near East

• Published in: Metropolitan Museum journal Vol. 57; p. 9
• Main Author: Eppihimer, Melissa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chicago University of Chicago Press 01.01.2022
• Subjects: Ancient civilizations; Identity; Sculpture; Visual arts
• DOI: 10.1086/723652
• ISSN: 0077-8958

When The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired an ancient Near Eastern copper head in 1947, the Museum's annual report described it as "one of the very proudest pieces of ancient sculpture that has come down through the centuries". The report also noted that viewers could appreciate the work without knowing the identity of the man depicted. The prevailing hypothesis at the time was that the sculpture represented an Elamite ruler from ancient Iran, in part because it was supposedly found in the country's northwestern region. Later, art historical study and technical analysis suggested stronger ties with the art of ancient Iraq, but the association with Iran remained, leading to a degree of uncertainty about the work's ancient cultural context. Now, new evidence points away from Iran and toward Iraq as the geographic locus of the sculpture's ancient and modern life.