An "Immortal" from Susa in the Louvre
The palaces of the Achaemenid kings were often decorated with representations of long lines of soldiers, dressed for a festive occasion: although they carry arms, they have no shields or helmets. They are often – but probably incorrectly-called “Immortals“. In Persepolis, they are carefully sculpted out of stone. In Susa, the soldiers were made from glazed brick, which gives us an idea of the colors.
When Susa was excavated at the end of the nineteenth century, the French archaeologists had a deal that every object made of gold and silver, was to remain in Iran. As a consequence, the reliefs are now in the Louvre in Paris, where they are illuminated by yellowish light, making it difficult to make good photos. Still, if you are interested, go here.
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Both this post and the one below about the statue of Darius the Great are very interesting and the pictures are great! All the history of Susa is very useful. I recently wrote a little piece about a South Korean diplomat in Iran who had tried to smuggle an engraved stone from Persepolis from the Achaemenid era out of the country! I have just written another post (http://historytodaymagazine.blogspot.com/2009/03/more-information-on-achaemenid-empire.html) linking to your blog to provide background information about the Achaemenid Empire and Susa.