A KHORASSAN BRONZE FINIAL IN THE FORM OF A LION'S FOREQUARTERS

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A KHORASSAN BRONZE FINIAL IN THE FORM OF A LION'S FOREQUARTERS
NORTH EASTERN IRAN, CIRCA 12TH CENTURY

The tubular curving legs with spreading feet supporting the high curving tapering neck, the rounded highly stylised face with turquoise-inset eyes, the mouth in the form of a trefoil arabesque filled with an enamel-like substance, the high flat ears with ball terminals engraved with leaf motifs, tapering for attachment to a shaft behind
7 3/8in. (18.6cm.) high

Lot Essay

While a number of lions of various sizes have retained turquoise eyes, sometimes flush with the surface, the treatment here of the mouth is unusual. It is filled with an extremely hard substance that appears to be granular and probably glaceous in origin

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