Ornamental Pin

Single Animal-Headed Pin. Decorative pins constitute an important group among Urartian jewelry types. Decorative metal pins were unearthed in Early Iron Age graves at Van-Karagündüz , Ernis and Dilkaya, located in the central area of the Urartian Kingdom. Urartians developed and diversified the earlier tradition of decorative pins and added new products to the repertoire. Urartian decorative pins are generally cast. Bronze is the most preferred metal, followed by silver, gold, gold-plate and bone. Figures include animals such as lions, bulls, goats, eagles, cocks and ducks, as well as mythological creatures. The number of figures on the crowns may vary between one and four. They were shown sitting side by side, standing alone or back to back. Pin heads with floral or fruit motifs mostly feature poppies. It appears that the carefully worked pins were mostly worn by Urartian women on the head or the chest. Decorative pins were found in situ at Giriktepe around the head of a female skeleton , at Karagündüz around the chest of a female skeleton and at Van-Kalecik around the head and chest of female skeletons. Motifs like poppies and pomegranates seen on the pin heads were applied in a style that is similar to the examples on the branches of the sacred tree, which we often encounter in Urartian visual arts. In addition to decoration, pins also carried religious functions. Decorative pins were also worn as amulets. Bead suspensions were attached to pins to increase their protective power.