Ziwiye hoard

The Ziwiye hoard is a treasure hoard containing gold, silver, and ivory objects, included a few Luristan pieces, that was uncovered on the south shore of Lake Urmia in Kordestan in 1947. These objects provide a link between the Iranian plateau and the Scythian artforms known as the "animal style". "The Scythian motives adopted by Urartu account for the decoration of the great Treasure of Sakiz brought to light on the south shore of Lake Urmia," was Leonard Woolley's assessment (Woolley 1961 p 176). The hoard contains objects in four styles: Assyrian, Scythian, proto-Achaemenid (with strong Greek influences), and the provincial native pieces. Dated "ca." 700 BC, this collection of objects illustrates the situation of the Iranian plateau as a crossroads of cultural highways— not least of them the Silk Road— which fused disparate cultures to inform early Iranian art.

Examples of the "Ziwiye Treasure" are scattered among public and private collections. A "Ziwiye" provenance may have been applied to comparable objects that have passed through the trade since the 1960s.

References

*Woolley, Leonard, 1961."The Art of The Middle East, including Persia, Mesopotamia and Palestine". (New York: Crown Publishers)
*Porada, Edith et al., 1962. "The Art of Ancient Iran : Pre-Islamic Cultures" (New York: Crown) [http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Porada/10.htm On-line excerpt]