Collection record · Objects & craft
Master of Animals Cheekpiece
The collection record classifies this work as metalwork. It is dated c. 700 BCE. Recorded culture or place: Iran, Luristan.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Master of Animals Cheekpiece
- Date
- c. 700 BCE
- Culture / origin
- Iran, Luristan
- Materials and technique
- bronze, cast and incised
- Dimensions
- Overall: 14.9 x 21.3 cm (5 7/8 x 8 3/8 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1961.33
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
In this cast bronze cheekpiece, a horned male figure with sidelocks grabs two winged felines by their forelegs. Each feline tramples a rabbit beneath its feet. This design is an ancient Near Eastern motif known as the Master of Animals. Incised chevrons, lines, and crosses decorate the master and the winged felines. A ring penetrating the male figure’s torso provides a means of attachment for a metal horse bit, now missing, and a second cheekpiece, likely nearly identical. This work likely originates from Luristan, a region in northwestern Iran known for its metalworking and horse-breeding in the Iron Age.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
Open the complete museum record View the open-access policyTHE VISITOR BOOK
What caught your eye?
Opening the visitor book…
