IRAN, CIRCA 1200 B.C.

This charming duck is pierced horizontally from the tail through the chest to possibly be worn as a decorative element in a necklace or as a single pendant. The animal is modelled in a way that uses the natural pattern of the banded agate stone to cleverly emphasize the anatomy of the duck. See no. 136 in A. P. Kozloff, ed., Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection, Cleveland, 1981, for an Elamite bull that similarly exploits the stone.