PlaquesUrartian8th century BCE

Plaque with Goddess

8th century BCE

Description

This thin sheet bears an incised scene of two very angular figures in profile facing each other. The figures wear mantles decorated with stippled circles and bands of short lines. The lower skirts of the figures are decorated only with vertical columns of short horizontal lines. The figures have large eyes, large curving eyebrows, prominent triangular noses, and rounded chins (no mouths or ears). The figure on the left holds up a long object with short lines on the sides, like a feather; its other arm is lower and reaching out. The figure on the right holds up a standard with a cylindrical shape on the top, filled with short lines in columns; its lower arm also reaches out from the waist. The arms are disproportionately short and placed low on the bodies. The torsos are somewhat triangular, expanding down from the necks. The figure on the right has pointed shoes preserved. On the top is a row of crow steps above a narrow band with short, angled marks on either side (almost a rope or chevron pattern). The field around the figures has irregular raised bosses with impressed stippled borders.

Classification

Plaques

Technique

Hammered

Medium

Mixed copper alloy

Culture

Urartian

Period

Iron Age

Century

8th century BCE