Figurine of a Cobra

  • 5th - early 4th century B.C.
  • Gilded copper
  • H-2.5 W-4.2
Catalogue Entry

ca. 2nd‐1st century B.C.
Gold sheet
(a) H. 14.2 cm, W. 4.9 cm (b) H. 14.0 cm, W. 4.0 cm c H. 14.0 cm, W. 6.1 cm
These figures of priests were hammered from thin sheets of gold. They wear knee-length, belted garments whose ends hang to the front of the figure. Their heads are fitted with closely bound hoods with front peaks, and they hold cups, not barsoms, in their right hands. Their lower legs, from knee down, are enclosed in trousers, and the lack of wrinkles indicates that these pants were tight-fitting. Their feet are bare and protrude from the pants. The faces of these priests are characterized by eastern Iranian features, such as their long noses, wide open nostrils and thick lips. These figures are thought to date from the end of the Hellenistic period to the post-Hellenistic period.

Reliefs of Priests