Votive pin, woman holding palm branches in both hands, flanked by two lions.

The pins with cast or hammered disc-shaped heads all belong to the former collection of Egbert Graeffe, acquired by the RMAH in 1954. They were purchased by Graeffe in Iran between 1936 and 1945, and probably originate from Surkh Dum-i Luri. In June 1938, a sanctuary was excavated by an American expedition, after the authorities stopped clandestine excavations there. Even though the sanctuary had been largely looted, the expedition still managed to discover hundreds of votive objects hidden in the walls and floors of the building. They found a large amount of similar looking pins, some even identical. Up till now, no such pins have been found during scientific excavations.
Although it cannot be excluded that such large, and sometimes heavy, pins were made as votive objects, it is likely that they were worn effectively before they were deposited in the sanctuary. Other types of pins were found in Surkh Dum-i Luri, which are also known from tombs and houses and were known to have a practical function.
The dating of these disc-shaped pins is particularly difficult because objects are sometimes kept in shrines for a very long period. The majority probably dates from the 10th to the 8th century BCE. The combination of iron pins with cast bronze heads seems to confirm this. The motifs are very diverse and include scenes with plants, naturalistic and fantastic animals, human heads, human figures and geniuses.