SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The bas-relief of Javanroud, a free-standing roughly rectangular stone, displays three standing figures performing a ceremony. The figures are dressed in Parthian fashion each with a short-sleeved tunic, and a pair of loose-fitting trousers with curved folds tucked perhaps into low ankle boots. The faces are severely damaged, and the features are not easily distinguishable. The scene on the relief is common in the Parthian monumental art and all the figures are represented in an isocephalic manner, and complete frontality. Stylistic and iconographic comparison suggests that this block may have belonged to a sanctuary dedicated to a deity of a local character. Traces of two Parthian inscriptions remain above the shoulders of the right and left figures on the relief. This paper sets out to determine the identities of the personages on the relief, and to establish a date, and to explore the use of the relief, as well as a detailed study of the iconography of the images depicted on the relief. This study will likewise include a comparison of the images on the relief with those on reliefs and objects found elsewhere. This present work also seeks to study the inscriptions inscribed on the upper right and left of the panel. The inscriptions will be deciphered, transliterated, transcribed and analyzed.