Standard support
Unknown Artist
ca. 8th–7th century BCE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
7 × 1 × 1 in. (17.8 × 2.5 × 2.5 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Sculpture
Culture & Period
Iran · Iron Age III
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of George D. Pratt, 1932
Accession Number
32.161.15
Art Historical Context
### Standard Support *ca. 8th–7th century BCE,, Iran, Iron Age III* delicate bronze *Standard support* from ancient Iran invites us into the Iron Age III period (ca. 800–550 BCE), a time when powerful kingdoms like the Medes were rising in the Zagros Mountains. Measuring just 7 × 1 × 1 inches, this small yet intricately crafted object likely served as a base or mount for a ceremonial—a pole topped with symbolic figures carried in processions, battles, or rituals. Such artifacts highlight the region's growing mastery of bronze casting, where molten metal was poured into molds to create du...