This finely carved fragment is from the apadana or Audience Hall of Persepolis. Cracked diagonally across the torso, the figure's strict right-hand profile and the remnant of a grasping left hand behind it indicate the sculpture's original place as part of a procession. Neatly braided beards and coiffures were characteristic of Persian guards in the Fifth Century B.C.
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The Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-331 B.C.) represents a brief but glorious period in Persian art history, resplendent with official and private works of architecture, sculpture and wall painting. Achaemenid craftsmen were also rightly renowned for decorative arts such as glass and alabaster vessels, jewelry, ornate arms and weaponry, and wooden and ivory carvings. Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia was a recent special exhibition at London's British Museum and Barcelona's Caixa Forum. To read Stan Parchin's review of the British Museum's catalogue (and view another four images), click here.
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The Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-331 B.C.) represents a brief but glorious period in Persian art history, resplendent with official and private works of architecture, sculpture and wall painting. Achaemenid craftsmen were also rightly renowned for decorative arts such as glass and alabaster vessels, jewelry, ornate arms and weaponry, and wooden and ivory carvings. Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia was a recent special exhibition at London's British Museum and Barcelona's Caixa Forum. To read Stan Parchin's review of the British Museum's catalogue (and view another four images), click here.