Tomyris and the Head of Cyrus Porcelain Group

What it is

This is a glazed white porcelain sculpture group made around 1773 by Karl Gottlieb Lück at the German Frankenthal Porcelain Factory. It shows a seated woman in a gold-patterned gown, a turbaned man, a man in a green cloak with a sword, and a kneeling figure holding a head over a basin, with a dog nearby, all on a decorated base.

Why it matters

This porcelain group portrays the ancient legend of Queen Tomyris's revenge on Cyrus the Great after his death in battle, a story recorded by Herodotus. Made by German craftsmen more than two thousand years after Cyrus lived, it shows how this dramatic ancient tale remained popular as a decorative subject for fine European porcelain in the 18th century.

Look closer

• Why might a scene of violence and revenge have been chosen as a decorative porcelain figure group?
• What details of costume and setting seem invented rather than historically accurate?
• What does the continued popularity of this story suggest about how Cyrus was remembered centuries later?