Figure
BackThis object is a Gateway object. Gateway objects are significant artefacts in the collection and are used to represent and introduce bigger subjects and themes.
Description:
Lion figure. Hollow, made from two halves of steel joined half-way up; tail attached separately. The body is engraved with figures, some in European dress, on a picnic, surrounded by birds and other quadrupeds.A band of undeciphered inscriptions in 'square kufic' style.
Object type: | figure |
Museum number: | 1928,1006.1 |
Culture/period: | Qajar dynasty |
Date: | 19thC |
Production place: | Made in: Iran |
Materials: | steel |
Technique: | engraved |
Dimensions: | Height: 19.50 cm Length: 49.50 cm Width: 12.00 cm |
Inscriptions: | Inscription details: inscription in Arabic in Kufic script Inscription quoted: Inscription note: According to J.M. Rogers, the roughly engraved 'square kufic' inscription around the sides is similar to the Berlin inscription of Cifte Minare in Erzerum, Turkey. |
Location: | 27 |
Exhibition history: | Exhibited: 2013-14 6 Dec-18 May, BM, Gallery 34, 'A Middle East menagerie: favourite works selected by curatorial assistants' |
Subjects: | animal, bird, phoenix |
Acquisition names: | Donated by: Dr Walter Leo Hildburgh |
Acquisition date: | 1928 |
Curator's comments:
The decoration on this steel lion imaginatively combines vegetal and figural ornament with script. Scenes of hunting and merriment engraved on its surface suggest it was intended for a secular setting, although the object’s precise use remains unclear.
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