Iran (Persepolis)

Procession of Tribute Bearers and Stair Stringer Relief (Apadana Stairways, Persepolis)

2384

Late 6th to early 5th century BC (approx. 520–486 BC), created during the Achaemenid Period under the reigns of Kings Darius I the Great and Xerxes I.

This architectural relief fragment is meticulously carved as a low relief (bas-relief) out of dense, local dark grey marmoreal limestone. It captures a section of the grand stepped wall where ascending registers display delegations of subject nations and attendants carrying gifts, framed and separated by inclined architectural stringers decorated with continuous ornamental bands.