Plaque fragment

Unknown

ca. 9th century BCE · Ivory · Ancient Near Eastern Art

This ivory plaque with a winged, snarling lion is one of several similarly decorated ivory fragments excavated at Hasanlu. The creature's mane is rendered in triangular tufts, while its wing is shown with four feathers emerging from a curved band. A dowel hole at the upper left suggests how such carved plaques were once attached to pieces of furniture or other objects. Although winged lions exist in both Assyrian and northern Syrian art, this example reflects a style of ivory carving found at Hasanlu.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 9th century BCE

Medium

Ivory

Culture

Iran

Department

Ancient Near Eastern Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1965