GRIFFIN: 7th Century BC Ceremonial Drinking Vessel Returned To Iran As Token Of Goodwill

[kpete]

President Rohani exchanged views with US officials on return of the seized ancient vessel, known in art circles as a rhyton, to Iran on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The US officials presented the ceremonial drinking vessel belonging to the 7th century BC to Iran as a token of goodwill.

The ancient vessel had been in New York since 2003, when an art dealer smuggled it into the country from Iran.

Griffin is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings of an eagle; and an eagles talons as its front feet. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.

http://en.irna.ir/News.aspx?Nid=80835974

[cthulu2016]

1. "back legs of a lion"... hmmm.

That's a gorgeous artwork, but the artists seems to have deviated from archetype with the front and back feet.

7th century BC... that's impressive.

[msanthrope]

3. The head of an eagle. Get it? The lion is a symbol of Iran, the eagle

is us. This is a pretty momentous gift.

[cthulu2016]

6. I was commenting on the specific artifact, where

the usual order of the feet is reversed. (A griffin usually has lion back legs and eagle front legs, as the article says.)

[msanthrope]

7. Did my post come across as confrontational? Because I meant it to be conversational. nt

[cthulu2016]

8. No worries

[tblue]

2. I first read this as "7th century vessel taken to Goodwil."

Bwaaaahaha!!!

Seriously, that's a good thing they did. I'm hopeful.

[pinboy3niner]

4. The pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle

The chalice from the palace has the brew that is true. Or is it the flagon with the dragon?

That's a beautiful piece, but I can't help thinking of Danny Kaye in 'Court Jester.'

[randome]

5. Wow. It's often the 'little' things like this that cement international friendships.

Last edited Sat Sep 28, 2013, 11:16 AM - Edit history (1)

There is so much to be optimistic about today.

• Gay rights becoming mainstream.
• Better health care.
• A Pope who is ‘different’.
• Republican civil war.
• Changing demographics that ensure a growing Democratic lead.
• Rapprochement with Iran.

These things do not occur in isolation. It's a sea change in how our society -and the rest of humanity- perceive themselves. I blame the Internet for much of it.

Now if we can only get our economy growing again...
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Igel]

9. That's for Anglophone consumption.

The backstory is that it's a reminder of Persian (lic. Iranian) greatness, when they were powerful and respected for their empire. That kind of nationalism, hearkening back to the period of Persian greatness (esp. over the Arabs, but later under Islam over S. Asia) is a staple of Iranian politics. They are the heirs of Cyrus, having been denied their greatness by Western anti-Islamic forces intent specifically on hurting (a) Persians and (b) Islam.

Making the story a bit harsher is the treatment of the minorities in Iran, which is the direct heir of a rump empire. Part of the empire resulted from conquering and controlling Kurds, Baloches, Arabs, Tadzhiks, and Azerbaijanis.

It fuels some of the claims that Iran has alluded to and suggested in the last 20-30 years, making Bahrain and some other Persian Gulf states feel a bit uncomfortable. From their point of view, it's rather how South Korea would relish Japan's having a large standing army and navy, while celebrating the military accomplishments of a century ago as "reclaiming dignity and honor."

Ethno-nationalism with religion is a bad combination.

It was right to return the artifact because it was an obligation under treaties and the US should stick to its word.