Introducing the Ivories

The archaeological site of Ziwiye in northwestern Iran, named after the adjacent village, became renowned in 1947 thanks to a large number of objects found there by locals and, shortly afterwards, by antiquities dealers. The first actual archaeological excavations at the site were undertaken by R. Dyson in 1956 and 1960,Footnote ¹ and another eight seasons of excavation were carried out by Nasratolah Motamedi in 1976–1978 and 1994–1998. Excavations were continued by Simin Lakpour for four seasons from 2000 to 2004. These excavations brought to light a large number of artefacts in poor condition, which underwent restoration by Husseini and Arabshahi in the Sanandaj Museum. Unfortunately, Motamedi and Lakpour have so far not published reports of their work at the site, and therefore information on the precise archaeological context of the materials is not yet available.

Since 1947, the materials attributed to Ziwiye have been the subject of numerous studies because they are remarkable works of art in a variety of styles. Amongst the distinct artistic styles that have been distinguished are Scythian, Assyrian, Mannean, Median and Urartian. The circumstances surrounding their finding, including the place and time of the discovery, and how and by whom the discoveries were made, are discussed in a variety of art historical and archaeological articles and books.

The authors of these studies, however, often contradict each other, and their contributions are mostly based on subjective statements and interpretations. GodardFootnote ² regarded the Ziwiye finds as a treasure hoard hidden in one of the Mannean fortresses destroyed by Sargon during his campaign of 714 b.c. He argued that the metal objects were probably made locally under Assyrian influence in the ninth and eighth centuries b.c. and that the motifs of Scythian character were actually Mannean creations. As a collection of Assyrian, Scythian and Mannean artefacts, the treasure supports the claim that thanks to years of commercial relations, the Scythian style shows Mannean contaminations, which in turn manifest late Luristan influences with Assyrian admixtures of the ninth and eighth centuries b.c., as first recognized by Falkner.Footnote ³

Four sets of objects, or distinct groups—Assyrian, Scythian, local,Footnote ⁴ and assyriennes à elements scythes—were distinguished by Ghirshman and accepted by FrankfortFootnote ⁵ and Sulimirski.Footnote ⁶ Ghirshman,Footnote ⁷ however, offered an alternative point of view on both the style and date of the findings, attributing the hoard to Scythian princes who had amassed it during their reigns, which according to Herodotus lasted 28 years. On this basis, the Ziwiye treasure would be genuinely Scythian in style and could not be dated later than 675–625 b.c. BarnettFootnote ⁸ assumed that the Ziwiye treasure was pre-Achaemenid and, based on comparisons with objects from the site of Zincirli, dated it to the seventh century b.c. With some modification, he suggested that the deposition represents “not a Scythian but a Median chieftain's burial ca. 600 b.c.”.Footnote ⁹

Helene Kantor published a gold plaque depicting winged creatures and emphasized its Urartian influences; in fact, she saw much of the treasure as “products of an Urartian tradition”, minimizing, or even eliminating, the designation “Mannaean”.Footnote ¹⁰ Porada compared the Ziwiye coffin to two bronze coffins with decorated vertical strips used for burial in a Neo-Babylonian tomb at Ur,Footnote ¹¹ while another coffin of the same shape but with undecorated strips was found at Zincirli, now in southeastern Turkey. Porada asserted that in the Ziwiye material there is a combination of several artistic styles, such as Assyrian, Urartian and Scythian, and that this combination arose in the Median era. She also proposed that the Assyrian dignitary in the engraving on the coffin was represented in an ivory statuette from Ziwiye.

Additional studies and publications of the ivories include:

1. Reference Godard1950: GodardFootnote ¹² presented twenty-four ivories found by plunderers in a bronze coffin;

2. Reference Wilkinson1952: WilkinsonFootnote ¹³ published the ivories acquired by the Metropolitan Museum;

3. Reference Wilkinson1960, Reference Wilkinson1963: WilkinsonFootnote ¹⁴ continued his publications, presenting two more ivories;

4. Reference Wilkinson1975: WilkinsonFootnote ¹⁵ added thirty-seven ivory fragments from the Abegg Collection;

5. Reference Ishiguro1976: IshiguroFootnote ¹⁶ published two ivories from his collection.

Various craft traditions associated with Assyrian, Urartian, Scythian and local cultures are reflected in the iconography and style of the carved figures on the ivory and bone plaques.

Here we will review seven ivories and two fragments of a bone plaque that were recovered during the seventh season of Motamedi's excavation in 1997. They are divided here into four groups based on their iconographic features:

1. 1- Ivory plaques with bull and lion hunting and battle (Figs. 1, 2 and 3).

2. 2- Ivory plaques with supernatural spirits (Figs. 4 and 5).

3. 3- Bone plaque with horseman (Fig. 6).

4. 4- Ivory plaques with unrecognizable scenes (Figs. 7 and 8).

Fig. 1

Photo and drawing of bull hunting plaque (photo and drawing by author)

Fig. 2

Photo and drawing of lion hunting plaque (photo and drawing by author)

Fig. 3

Photo and drawing of battle plaque (photo and drawing by author)

Fig. 4

Photo and drawing of supernatural spirits plaque (photo and drawing by author)

Fig. 5

Photo and drawing of convex ivory panel (photo and drawing by author)

Fig. 6

Photo and drawing of bone plaque (photo and drawing by author)

Fig. 7

Photo and drawing of ivory plaque (photo and drawing by author)

Fig. 8

Photo and drawing of ivory plaque (photo and drawing by author)

Group 1, Fig. 1

Fig. 1 is part of a long, horizontal narrow strip, broken at the ends. The relief carving is particularly fine, with delicate incisions on the clothing. The chariot, which is being drawn towards the right, is fitted with a large eight-spoked wheel in eighth century b.c. Neo-Assyrian style,Footnote ¹⁷ and the cab is ornamented with squares and cross hatching arranged vertically and horizontally, while the edge of the side is undecorated. The harness and the front of the cab, above the wheel, find comparisons in Assyrian sculpture from the ninth century b.c. to the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 b.c.).Footnote ¹⁸

Three men are in the chariot; one faces left and drives an axe into the head of a wild bull behind the vehicle. He is assisted by two fully armed, bearded soldiers wearing Assyrian garments, who attack the bull from the rear. The horns of the animal sweep forward and upward, as if ready to gore its enemy; the head is lowered and neck bent, the forelegs almost appear to be collapsing. The locks of hair running along its neck and back end in tiny spiral curls. The tail continues the line of the back and then rises and bends back over the body, ending in a tuft of long, wavy locks terminating in little spiral curls. The second individual in the chariot is the driver, who faces right, holding the reins and a whip. The third individual also faces right and holds a fully drawn bow aimed toward a wild bull in the front of the chariot, with the same features as the one just described. It is moving to the right, but its head is turned back towards the left. The two horses show the usual Neo-Assyrian triple-tasselled ornaments on top of their heads, necks and shoulders, and their backs and sides are partly covered by decorated saddles. Their tails are bound around the centre. They are linked to the chariot by means of a strap with a loop. At the right of the scene is a lion hunted by three soldiers, all of them in Neo-Assyrian clothing. The first wears a helmet with ear-flaps, holds a spear in his right hand, and has a convex shield with teeth with his left hand. The second holds a dagger in the right hand and grips the lion's mane with his left hand. The third soldier has been attacked by the lion. The lion is facing right and standing on its hind legs, the paws outstretched on either side of the third soldier's body. Another lion in front of this group has been broken away, leaving behind only its tail. Almost the same scenes of royal wild bull hunting is depicted in the palace reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud (883–859 b.c.) in the southeast corner of the throne room (Room B), where the king is represented shooting arrows,Footnote ¹⁹ and on a Urartian bronze belt.Footnote ²⁰

The features of the horned bulls have parallels on Urartian objects, such as horse trappings inscribed with the name of MenuaFootnote ²¹ (810–785/78 b.c.). At the centre of a bronze chariot is a disk with the name of IšpuiniFootnote ²² (c. 830–810 b.c.); a god or a divine character stands on a similar bull. More of the same type of bull can be seen on other examples of Urartian metal arts. On a bronze shield from Karmir-Blur inscribed with the name of Argišti I (ca. 786–746 b.c.),Footnote ²³ similar bulls are represented in a circular frieze. In both hunt scenes, the dying and dead bodies, animal and human, are placed beneath the belly of a galloping horse. This motif of the fallen enemy under a horse or another animal is frequent in Neo-Assyrian reliefs and also occurs in Egyptian, Neo-HittiteFootnote ²⁴ and Urartian art.

Group 1, Fig. 2

Fig. 2 is part of a long narrow strip, broken at the ends and poorly preserved. This scene is not complete, but the preserved part consisted of a relief frieze depicting a lion hunt in which the chariot is drawn to the left. Almost the same lion hunting scenes are depicted in the reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud in three separate wall decorations in the southeast corner of the throne room (Room B) and immediately adjacent to the bull hunt. Two are now in the British Museum,Footnote ²⁵ the other in the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin.Footnote ²⁶ The same scene of lion hunting has also been represented on an Urartian bronze belt.Footnote ²⁷ Albenda notes that in the usual representations of the royal hunt, “the Assyrian king stands erect in his chariot, accompanied by a charioteer, and faces forward as he prepares to release the arrow from the drawn bow. The action of the entire scene moves in a single direction, from left to right, unhindered by the fallen lion which may crouch beneath the bodies of the galloping horses or turn back in a futile attempt to ward off certain death”.Footnote ²⁸

Five lions are depicted, and the remaining portion suggests that three men are in the chariot. One faces left holding a spear in his right hand and with his left hand he pushes back the head of the lion standing on its hind legs attacking the chariot from behind. The second man, the driver, faces right holding the reins and whip. The whip is the same as those depicted in Assyria in the ninth to seventh centuries b.c.Footnote ²⁹ The third man is facing right and aims a fully drawn bow toward another lion. The cab of the chariot is decorated with squares like the chariot in Fig. 1, and it is linked to the chariot by means of a strap with a loop. Beneath the chariot and the horse's feet, a lion lies dying on its back. In front of the chariot, another lion is standing on its hind legs facing left, both paws outstretched to attack. At the right of this group are two men, one facing left and attacking another lion, with a spear raised in his hand above his head. The other is facing right to attack another lion. He has a spear in his right hand and a convex shield with teeth in his left hand. He probably also has a sword hanging from a sword belt.

This scene of royal hunting in a chariot has older roots in Near Eastern motifs;Footnote ³⁰ hunting wild animals and killing human enemies can be seen in the early first millennium b.c.

Group 1, Fig. 3

Fig. 3 is a part of a long, narrow, poorly preserved panel with broken ends. This scene is incomplete and damaged but evidently depicted a royal battle and hunting. It consists of a combined relief frieze depicting warriors in a chariot attacking enemies on the left and a lion hunt to the right. Three men are in the chariot, one facing left holding a shield in his right hand and trying to parry away several enemies. Only some small sections of the enemies’ equipment remain on the left side of the panel. The second man in the chariot faces left and seems to aim a fully drawn bow toward attacking enemies on the left. The third drives the chariot, holding the reins with both hands. The chariot is fitted with large eight-spoked wheels in the eighth century b.c. Assyrian styleFootnote ³¹ and has a long decorative element above the horses’ backs. The cab is decorated with rosettes. A fallen enemy is under the chariot, and another is being over-run by the chariot horses. He wears a short kilt and has an arrow in his left hand. Another enemy has fallen under the horses but only part of his hand remains.Footnote ³² In the middle of the scene there are two horsemen with spears stabbing an enormous lion standing on its hind legs and turning its face to the left, with outstretched paw. Above the scene an eagle flies between the chariot and horses. Eagles represented on Assyrian reliefs are generally identified with the god Ashur, who supports the king in battle and “asserts the divine power behind the king's success in battle against his enemies”.Footnote ³³ The lions in this scene may signify these defeated enemies. The first scene of this ivory is the same as that in the relief of Ashurnasirpal II in Room B of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud.

As noted by Albenda, the presence of a deity watching over the Assyrian king's victory is of the utmost significance: the god's acknowledgement raises the king's status from heroic, and therefore still human, to divine.Footnote ³⁴ A similar scene on another ivory plaque from Ziwiye is published by Wilkinson.Footnote ³⁵

Group 2, Fig. 4

Fig. 4 is a fragment from a horizontal rectangular panel. The right and left sides are broken and the surface is severely damaged. Two supernatural spirits are shown facing right. The first is a winged, human-headed bull wearing the horned turret crown of a divinity surmounted by a disc in the centre and two antennae at the sides, which could be rosettes as in examples on Neo-Assyrian ivories.Footnote ³⁶ His hair is shoulder-length, and he has a moustache and a long spade-shaped beard. He has a wing in three sections of long parallel feathers, and cross-hatching on the chest, back and stomach. Many ivories and metal objects of Ziwiye show similar depictions of the human-headed winged bull, the most familiar of the Assyrian hybrid creatures, often depicted in palace gateways.Footnote ³⁷

The second figure is a combination of merman and goat-fish (the Greek Capricorn), human-headed with a fish body, goat legs and goat horn. It is somewhat unusual amongst Ziwiye iconography, and no similar figure can be recognized from neighbouring cultures. His hair is shoulder-length, and he has a moustache and long spade-shaped beard. Beneath his feet is a rosette, of which only the upper half has survived. The goat-fish creature is represented in Babylonia from Neo-Sumerian to Hellenistic times, and the Mesopotamian creature suhurmašu, carp-goat, is attested on a kudurru.Footnote ³⁸ In Neo-Assyrian art, mermen were associated with the water god Ea and used for protective magic.Footnote ³⁹ Since there is no precise parallel for this figure, and according to these comparisons this plaque cannot belong anywhere else, it should be considered as belonging to a local style group, probably made by a local craftsman.

Group 2, Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a fragment from a horizontal, strongly convex panel. Fragments are missing from both ends. The panel shows a winged griffin and bull set back-to-back within the curving branches of a stylized tree. The griffin on the left is almost completely preserved, except for part of its face. It has a lion body, legs, paws, and tail between the hind legs, and the head and wings of an eagle. It also has a cloth-like kilt in front. The griffin is not like the common griffin-demons well known in Neo-Assyrian period, rather, it is more like the sphinxes on other related Ziwiye objects. Kantor believes that this kind of kilt can be traced back ultimately to the lengthened mane that hangs down in front of the forelegs of some Egyptian lions of the New Kingdom. Outside of Ziwiye this feature is found in North Syrian orthostats and small objects, and on a bone comb from Gordion.Footnote ⁴⁰ The tree is similar to scroll shapes on Neo-Assyrian plaques and on further ivories from Egypt, Syria, Malatya,Footnote ⁴¹ CarchemishFootnote ⁴² and Zincirli.Footnote ⁴³

Group 3, Fig. 6

Figure 6 shows fragments from the top and bottom of a bone panel; the middle part is missing. The surface is flat and the carving crudely incised. It is perhaps part of a battle scene involving a horse with horseman and a separate chariot. The horseman wears a belted tunic and a band around his hair, and he wields a spear. The horses are decorated with incised semi-circles on the neck and rosettes on the forehead and the tail. Their manes are depicted using short parallel lines. The chariot is drawn to the left, and part of the connection with horse's equipment is visible. A similar male figure to the one depicted here can be seen on a belt fragment from Ziwiye kept in a private collection and published by Ghirshman.Footnote ⁴⁴

Group 4, Fig. 7

Fig. 7 is fragment from a vertical, rectangular ivory panel in two registers, broken at the top, bottom and left side. The surface is flat and the carving is crude. Zigzag borders separate the registers. The upper register shows a section of the fringed hem of a long garment and a foot oriented to the left. The lower register preserves only the upper part of a courtier facing left. His left arm is bent at a right angle. He has shoulder-length hair, a rather large nose, and a pointed hat. He wears a garment with short, fringed sleeves. There is no comparable figure on the Ziwiye ivories and no parallel in neighbouring artistic productions.

Group 4, Fig. 8

Fig. 8 is a fragment of an ivory panel with the left and lower sides broken off. The surviving part shows a zigzag border at the top. All that is left of the scene is the upper section of a bearded man with straight hair who carries a fringed quiver over his left shoulder and seems to wear a tiara on his head.