Armlet
500 - 330 BC (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This gold bracelet is part of the Oxus Treasure, the most important collection of gold and silver to have survived from the Achaemenid period. Apart from this bracelet, the remainder of the treasure belongs to the British Museum, where this armlet is usually on loan.
The armlet was bought by Captain F.C. Burton when he rescued a group of merchants who had been captured by bandits on the road from Kabul to Peshawar. They were carrying with them the Oxus treasure, which Burton helped them to recover, and so they allowed him to buy this bracelet before going on to sell the remainder of the pieces in Rawalpindi. It was from the bazaars of India that other pieces of the Treasure emerged, reaching the British Museum by a circuitous route.
The bracelet is similar to objects being brought as tribute on reliefs at the Persian centre of Persepolis. The Greek writer Xenophon (born around 430 BC) tells us that armlets were among the items considered as gifts of honour at the Persian court. The hollow spaces would have contained inlays of glass or semi-precious stones. The bracelets are typical of the Achaemenid Persian court style of the fifth to fourth century BC.
The armlet was bought by Captain F.C. Burton when he rescued a group of merchants who had been captured by bandits on the road from Kabul to Peshawar. They were carrying with them the Oxus treasure, which Burton helped them to recover, and so they allowed him to buy this bracelet before going on to sell the remainder of the pieces in Rawalpindi. It was from the bazaars of India that other pieces of the Treasure emerged, reaching the British Museum by a circuitous route.
The bracelet is similar to objects being brought as tribute on reliefs at the Persian centre of Persepolis. The Greek writer Xenophon (born around 430 BC) tells us that armlets were among the items considered as gifts of honour at the Persian court. The hollow spaces would have contained inlays of glass or semi-precious stones. The bracelets are typical of the Achaemenid Persian court style of the fifth to fourth century BC.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gold |
| Brief description | Armlet, 'The Oxus Treasure Armlet', gold, Takht-i Kuwad, Tajikistan, 500 - 330 BC |
| Physical description | This armlet made of massive gold has terminals in the form of winged griffins. Parts of the surface are hollowed out, and other parts fitted with cloisons, which suggests that the piece would once have been inlaid with semi-precious stones such as turquoise, lapis lazuli and carnelian, and coloured glass and faience. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | This armlet was bought by Captain F.C. Burton in May 1880, when he rescued a group of merchants travelling from Bokhar, who had been captured by bandits on the road from Kabul to Peshawar. They were carrying with them the Oxus Treasure, which Burton helped them to recover, and so they allowed him to buy this bracelet before going on to sell the remainder of the pieces in Rawalpindi. It was from the bazaars of India that other pieces of the Treasure emerged, reaching the British Museum by a circuitous route. In 1884, Burton sold the armlet to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) for the then considerable sum of £1000. The armlet forms a pair with another at the British Museum. |
| Historical context | Gold armlets were among the gifts that were particularly valued at the Persian Court. |
| Summary | This gold bracelet is part of the Oxus Treasure, the most important collection of gold and silver to have survived from the Achaemenid period. Apart from this bracelet, the remainder of the treasure belongs to the British Museum, where this armlet is usually on loan. The armlet was bought by Captain F.C. Burton when he rescued a group of merchants who had been captured by bandits on the road from Kabul to Peshawar. They were carrying with them the Oxus treasure, which Burton helped them to recover, and so they allowed him to buy this bracelet before going on to sell the remainder of the pieces in Rawalpindi. It was from the bazaars of India that other pieces of the Treasure emerged, reaching the British Museum by a circuitous route. The bracelet is similar to objects being brought as tribute on reliefs at the Persian centre of Persepolis. The Greek writer Xenophon (born around 430 BC) tells us that armlets were among the items considered as gifts of honour at the Persian court. The hollow spaces would have contained inlays of glass or semi-precious stones. The bracelets are typical of the Achaemenid Persian court style of the fifth to fourth century BC. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 442-1884 |
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| Record created | November 16, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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