Head of a Persian Guard from Persepolis, Iran, c. 486-465 CE, limestone, 21.26" x 24.41" x 4.72", Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Bas-relief (noun)
A sculpture in which the figures project only slightly from the background.
A Persian bas-relief dating from the first century CE, that looks very similar to the one shown above, is among the most recent art heists. The sculpture of a head of a guard from ancient Assyria, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, was stolen from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in the fall of 2011. The museum’s insurance company is offering a hefty reward for its return, so watch for it!
