An Achaemenid Gold Repoussé Plaque, Achaemenid Period, ca. 500 - 330 BCE Medium - Faience prior to the departure of

prior to the departure of the Shah in 1979

Of exceptional quality

The ancient Egyptians discovered it in pebble form and used it for protection

the tree features a vertical trunk with symmetrical side branches and is topped with a large rosette or lotus bloom

and lunar power

An Achaemenid Gold Repoussé Plaque, Achaemenid Period, ca. 500 - 330 BCE Medium - Faience prior to the departure ofThis sheet gold plaque attests to the exceptional skill of Achaemenid goldsmiths and the sophisticated taste and high social status of its original owners. Greek writers often speak of the tremendous wealth of the Persians, and Herodotus writes that King Xerxes' troops "were adorned with the greatest magnificence they glittered all over with gold, vast quantities of which they wore about their person" (vii. 83). Of high karat gold, this example is