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Breastplate fragment
ca. 800-500 B.C.E.

Iron Age III

Gold
H: 9.3 W: 18.1 D: 0.5 cm
Northwestern Iran, Northwestern Iran

Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn to the Smithsonian Institution S1986.496

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This is a fragment from the lower part of a much larger pectoral, or breastplate, made of sheet metal and embellished with figures and ornament arranged in horizontal bands.

A breastplate shielded the chest from arrows or other weapons. The decoration on this example consists of mythical guardian creatures, whose images were believed to provide magical protection for the wearer.

A pectoral made of thin sheet gold, like this one, would have been attached to a sturdier material, probably leather. Given the fragility and cost of the material and its intricate decoration, the pectoral may have been fashioned specifically for ceremonial use or burial equipment.