Silver Flask with Cranes
Side 1
2018-06-22
Name/Title
Silver Flask with CranesEntry/Object ID
18NE11227Description
Silver Sasanian flask with cranes and flowers.Context
This vessel has a small puncture near the base used to strain haoma, the sacred vine important in Zoroastrian religion. The source of haoma is the Iranian Tree of Life, identifiable by the attached vines. Sprigs of the haoma were brought to earth by divine birds, represented here as large cranes. The left-facing crane seems to be characteristic of early Islamic work, as right-facing images were typical of the Sasanian period. The Tree of Life was planted alongside another tree called the Impassive, represented on the opposite side of the vessel. The Impassive tree bore fruit containing the seeds of every kind of plant including the extending typha reeds (cattail). The lower vines encircle two small birds, ready to carry the fallen seeds to the rain god Tištrya to purify the lands and bestow fertility. The iconographic result of the vessel depicts natural harmony and the existence of freedom in nature.Made/Created
Date made
601 CE - 800 CETime Period
MedievalEthnography
Culture/Tribe
Near Eastern - Sasanian