Relief from the Palace of Xerxes I at Persepolis in the Princeton University Art Museum, August 2009

Relief from the Palace of Xerxes at Persepolis
486 – 465 B.C.

Achaemenid
550 - 331 B.C.

Limestone

h. 58.5 cm., w. 28.5 cm. (23 1/16 x 11 1/4 in.)

Place made: Iran / /

Museum purchase, gift of Gordon McCormick, Class of 1917

Object Number: y1949-115


Text from: artmuseum.princeton.edu/art/collections/ancient/search/


This sculpted relief was found at Persepolis, Iran, the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (ca. 550-330 BC). It depicts a striding male figure carrying a metal drinking bowl in each hand. The man is identified as a Persian by his distinctive felt cap (kidaris), long-sleeved tunic, and leggings. Originally installed in the royal palace at Persepolis, where the Persian king held audiences for foreign embassies, the relief can be securely dated to the reign of Xerxes I (486-465 BC), who is believed to have overseen the palace's construction. The Persian cup-bearer is only one member of a long procession that ran around the walls of the palace complex. In addition to native Persians and Medes, other participants in the procession represented the many subject nations of the Persian Empire, who were depicted carrying gifts intended for the Great King. The man's raised right leg reflects the original orientation of the slab, which ran alongside a staircase. His posture thus mirrored that of his human counterparts, who climbed the stairs in order to reach the king's audience hall.

Text from the Princeton University Art Museum label.