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This month I will be looking at #Persians - the Persians themselves, and the way that the idea of the Persians has been appropriated, especially by the West. I am starting by looking back at the @britishmuseum's "Men from the East" exhibition, which cons
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Enamelled reliquary casket Limoges, France, about AD 1250 Persian and Zoroastrian imagery has often been used to portray the biblical Wise Men or Three Kings, who came from the East. At the top, they wear Persian tunics and trousers. Below, the present
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Enamelled reliquary casket Limoges, France, about AD 1250 Persian and Zoroastrian imagery has often been used to portray the biblical Wise Men or Three Kings, who came from the East. At the top, they wear Persian tunics and trousers. Below, the present
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Three Kings taler Cologne, Germany, about AD 1516 Since AD 1164 Cologne (Köln) Cathedral in western Germany has housed the reics of the Three Kings, also known as the Magi. In the Persian tradition magi are Zoroastrian priests. This silver 2-taler coin s
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Gilded silver plate Sasanian style 7th-8th century AD This fabulous creature is a mixture of a dog and a bird, combined with what may be fish scales. The dog in Zoroastrianism is associated with rituals connected to the dead. During the funeral ceremony
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Qajar polychrome glazed wall tile Iran, Shiraz or Tehran, 1800-99 This is a nineenth-century copy of an audition scene of King Xerxes (486-465 BC) from ancient Persepolis in Iran. The seated king on the tile is named as Jamshid-i Jam, the legendary rule
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Bronze tablet Roman c. AD 200 This bronze tablet is dedicayed to Sextus Pompeius Maximus. He was priest of the cult of Sol (the Sun) and Mithras, and president of a guild of ferrymen in Ostia, the port of Rome. Above the text is a bust of Mithras with r
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Gilded Sasanian-style plate Modern Afghanistan AD 300s The plate shows a series of royal and divine figures. The centre celebrates a royal investiture with a king seated on a platform throne supported by fabulous winged creatures. He offers a noble a ri
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Silver tetradrachm Iran c. 280-100 BC The kings of Persis (Pars/Fars) in southern Iran produced coins with strong Zoroastrian connotations. This is the reverse, showing the Fire-temple with double panelled doors. The temple is set on a podium, framed b
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Gold coin of a Kushan king Gold coin of the Kushan king, Kanishka (AD 127-50), shows Miiro, the equivalent to Mithra. The coin was produced in India. 1894,0506.26 @britishmuseum #Persians
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King, fire and prophet Tiles, India, Mumbai, 1980-89 In the Zoroastrian tradition Vishtaspa, the sone of King Lohrasp, was the patron of Zarathustra. Lohrasp and his son also feature prominently in the 'Shahnameh', or Book of Kings, of AD 1010. Here, Sh
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Embossed silver bowl Modern Uzbekistan c. AD 680 This silver bowl shows in the centre the goddess Nana, who is four-armed in the Indian tradition. She is seated on a lion throne and holds a star and moon in each hand. Like her Iranian Zoroastrian equiva
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Portrait of Emperor Akbar India, Mughul, AD 1680-87 Emperor Akbar (AD 1556-1605) was fascinated with all religions. After a meeting with a Zoroastrian (Parsi) priest from Navsari in Gujarat, he became impresses with this faith. He kept a sacred fire bur
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Silver coins of Vologases I Iran, Parthian, AD 55-6 In the Zoroastrian tradition holy texts were scattered as a result of Alexander of Macedon's conquest of the Persian Empire in 330 BC. These were gatheres together by Vologases I (Walakhsh), who ruled
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Silver Tetradrachm of Vologases I Enthroned king Vologases I facing left, receiving diadem from Tyche, standing with sceptre. AD 55-56 Purchased from Dr Lubiez, 1891 1891,0603.37 @britishmuseum #Persians
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Flight of the falcons London, 2013 The Iranian-born artist Afsoon has chosen a coin of the Sasanian king Khusrau II Parviz (AD 591-628) as the central subject of her print commissioned for this exhibition. The winged crown of the king, the birds and the
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Coin of King Vima Kadphises Bactria, Afghanistan, AD 110-27 The Kushan kings worshipped Iranian Zoroastrian gods. 1867,1218.10 @britishmuseum #Persians
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Gold coin of Bahram II Iran, Sasasian, AD 276-293 King Bahram II is shown here together with is wife. They face a divine being who is presenting them with a diadem as symbol of kingship. All three wear crowns adorned with divine symbols associated with
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Copper coin showing Vima Kadphises standing, head turned to right, wearing tall cap boots and heavy coat, making offering over fire altar with his right hand and holding hilt of sword with his left. In left field is a trident, in right field is a club and
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Gold coin of Kushan king, Kanisha I (AD 127-50) showing figure of Miiro, the equivalent to Mithra. Zoroastrian Mithra, god of the sun, the first light, god of seasons, contracts and supreme judge, enjoyed a high status in ancient Persia. Roman Mithras, a
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Silver drachm, showing Sasasian king Bahram I (AD 127-276), wearing radiate crown of the Iranian god of the sun, seasons and contracts, Mithra, with earflap and diadem, cap and globe; long beard and hair, moustache. 1894,0506.1314 @britishmuseum #Persi
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Silver drachm of Sasasian king Bahram (Varhran) I (AD 273-276) The reverse here shows a fire altar and two armed attendants leaning on long staff, looking away from altar. To left, male figure wearing cap and globe, long hair; to right, male figure weari
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Gold Oxus Treasure plaque Modern Tajikistan, about 400 BC This plaque comes from the eastern part of the Persian empire. The bird of prey with outstretched wings is probably Veregna, the royal falcon. His task is to protect the khvarnah/farr, the Kingly
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Gold Oxus Treasure plaque Modern Tajikistan, about 400 BC This gold plaque from the eastern part of the Persian empire shows a worshipping figure holding consecrated sticks (barsom). He wears long trousers and the kandys, the Persian long-sleeved coat,
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Nineteenth-century plaster cast taken from sculptures on the Palace of Darius at Perseopolis, Iran This scene is repeated on this staircase and on other reliefs at Perseopolis. It may represent a contest between the forces of Good and Evil, with the bull
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Silver rhyton (wine pourer) This is one of the most famous pieces of silverware to survive from the Persian Empire. The front is in the form of a winged griffin wearing a necklace originally inlaid with a semi-precious stone. The top is decorated with pa
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Gilded silver vase with grape harvesting scene Scenes like this were common in Sasanian and Byzantine art. They were derived from Dionysiac concepts and symbolised eternal life and fertility. Within Iran, foxes and birds were regarded as sacred creatures
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Plaster cast of scene from the Palace of Darius at Perseopolis, Iran
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Darius dressed as Pharaoh of Egypt This wooden door shows Darius I (521-486 BC) dressed as pharaoh on the right, making an offering to the Egyptian god Anubis. Isis is standing on the left. The door originally belonged to a box, or naos, used to contain
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Glazed brick guardsman This was part of a frieze depicting rows of guards. The vivid colours show how the carved stone sculptures would have looked when they were painted. The guards are thought to be members of the 1000 special royal guards. They were s
