Iran (Persepolis)

Column Base of the Apadana at Persepolis (Lotus and Palmette Ornament)

2435

Created approximately between ca. 520 BCE and ca. 490 BCE, during the height of the Achaemenid Empire (First Persian Empire), spanning the reigns of kings Darius I the Great and Xerxes I.

This object is a monumental architectural stone fragment representing the bell-shaped base (often called a campaniform base) of a massive column from the grand audience hall of the Apadana. It is carved from dense local dark-gray or light-gray limestone, executed through precise stone-masonry carving, chisel-work, and low-relief sculpting directly onto the curving architectural drum.