The Comparative Study of Shape & Designs of Hasanloo & Marlik Cups

The study of archeological documents during archaeological excavations has always been a means to discover the relationships, solidarities, and interactions of prehistoric peoples and tribes. As we know, the first empires in human history were established at the beginning of the first millennium BC, when the civilization of the Iron Age of Guilan took place. The three Near East countries i.e, the Urartu, Ilam and Assyrian Empires in the first millennium BC, were the first ones claiming the "World Empire". Urartu was partially succeeded in unifying all of the Armenian plateau (eastern Anatolia) and part of the Transcaucasian. We have very little knowledge of Ilam. However, we have much to learn about Assyria, which was at its peak as the first "world empire" to encompass much of the civilized world of the age.
The attempt in this article is to respond to two basic questions by studying and analyzing the shape and visual characteristics of the metal cups discovered from two given basins, namely Marlik and Hassanloo. First, what are the common aspects of Hassanloo's and Marlik's metalwork, and second, what kinds of effect do the specific characteristics of these dishes reflect from the adjacent tribes and contemporary neighbors of Iran. The method of gathering resources has been library (inductive), In so doing, the researcher in this descriptive-analytical research classified and examined twelve samples (two from Hassanloo and ten from Marlik) And he explains the ways they share and differentiate and presented the results into the tables. In this regard, these cups are first identified and presented in terms of form and content and then body decorations are comparatively shown and identified. Iconic decorations can be examined in two categories: iconic-abstract and iconic-natural. The decorations of the containers studied in this paper are divided into two iconic-abstract including plant, animal, human, and pure abstract motifs consisting of geometric and non-geometric designs. One of the most important findings of this research is the study and comparison of the discovered metal cups from the excavations of south of Caspian Sea and Lake Urmia in terms of visual structure, executive technique, method of construction and content of their designs reveal unity and correlation in ethnic, cultural and inter-ethnic roots among inhabitants of the ancient hills of Marlik and Hassanloo in the late second millennium and early first millennium BC. Further reflection on the design of these cups traces the connections and influences of these ancient regions with the northern Caspian basin and ancient hills located in contemporary southern Russia and the present Caucasus and areas around Lake Van and the northwestern region of present Iran; i.e., the Urartu. It also explains the culture of Lorestan and Silk Kashan from the south and west. Drawn upon the artistic findings and characteristics taken from the discoveries of the Marlik Cemetery, it can also be claimed that these works were influenced by the features of Assyrian art as well as Urartu’s, especially in Hassanloo and Mannea, one of its allies.