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| Browse Ancient Near Eastern Art |
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ANCIENT
TREASURES OF THE NEAR EAST
The ancient Near East, a region extending from the eastern shores
of the Mediterranean Sea to present-day Afghanistan, was home to
several of the world's oldest civilizations. Favored with
an abundance of natural resources, the people of this region developed
metalworking and pottery-making to a level of sophistication unknown
elsewhere at the time. Few museums of Asian art boast a collection
of Near Eastern Art as rich as that of the Freer and Sackler galleries.
The objects in this collection span several thousand years, from
5,000 B.C.E. to the advent of Islam in 651.
ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN COLLECTION
Number of objects: more than 1,100
Historical range: 5,000 B.C.E.–651
HIGHLIGHTS
• A large collection of ancient Iranian ceramic vessels and
sculptures ranging in date from around 5,000 B.C.E. through the
Parthian period (around 140 B.C.E.–224 C.E.)
• Over 200 seals dating from 2500 B.C.E.–651, representing
a variety of shapes, materials, periods, and designs
• Small collections of ancient Iranian bronze vessels and
horse trappings, dating mostly from around 2,000–600 B.C.E.
• An important collection of elaborately decorated silver
vessels made in present-day Iran and Afghanistan during the Sasanian
period (224–651 C.E.)
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