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Sun-disk pectoral
Near Eastern, Iranian
Iron Age
10th–9th century B.C.
Object Place: Iran, Caspian coastal region
Medium/Technique
Gold
Dimensions
Overall: 9.3 cm (3 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Mary L. Smith Fund
Accession Number60.959
CollectionsJewelry, Asia, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Pendants
DescriptionSun-disk pectoral. Two outer rims of hatched dashes; eleven-pointed star with 4 bosses between each point; in center large boss whose center was depressed, apparently to take inlay. Hasp for attaching to necklace. This type of ornament, which was widely imitated and used in Iran, originated in Mesopotamia, where it was called the "shamshatu," or "sun-disk." Evoking the sun god Shamash, who was also the god of justice, it seems to have been worn as a symbol of earthly authority and of the great god's patronage.
ProvenanceBy 1960: with Dariush Broumand, New York, New York; 1960: purchased by the MFA from Dariush Broumand.
(Accession Date: September 21, 1960)
(Accession Date: September 21, 1960)