NORTH EAST IRAN, 12TH CENTURY

Lions have been a symbol of power and authority since pre-historic times. We know of their imagery in the arts of Rome, but it is in pre-Islamic Iran that the lion was pre-eminent, from as early as the Achaemenid period. The well-known group of Iranian incense burners in the form of lions therefore combine a form familiar in Iran with a function that was imported from Byzantium, that of the incense burner.

Lion incense burners appear to have been produced in various sizes, ranging from the massive but atypical example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art signed by Ja'far bin Muhammad bin 'Ali and dated AH 577/1181-2 AD that is 33½in. (82.6 cm.) high to a number that are only around 7in. (17cm) high. While the Metropolitan Museum example is made from sheet metal, presumably to accommodate the scale, the majority, as here, are cast. The sculptural qualities also vary considerably, from the more angular versions such as one in the Louvre Museum (Arthur Upham Pope, A Survey of Persian Art, Oxford, 1938, pl.1297) and one sold at Sotheby's (9 April 2008, lot 114) which is now in the Farjam collection, to ones whose feline qualities are much more apparent. Among these latter are the lion incense burner in the Khalili Collection (J. M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam, Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, Abu Dhabi, 2008, no.98, pp.94-5) and the archetype of the group, that in the Hermitage Museum signed by ‘Ali bin Muhammad al-Salihi (Pope, op.cit., pl.1304).

The present lion certainly belongs to the latter group, and in terms of the arrangement of the forms is particularly close to the Khalili example. It stands poised, the weight apparently on the rear legs, ready to react in an instant. This conceals the thought that went into the casting of this incense burner. The weight, particularly of the oversized neck that is reminiscent of earlier Iranian Amlash pottery bulls, is carried sufficiently far back to give the sculpture complete stability. Even with the head hinged forwards to fill the body with incense, the front legs still support the structure, avoiding it tipping over. When filled with glowing embers this stability would have been essential, particularly when the lion is cast on this scale. It is the second largest known cast example; only that in the Hermitage is larger. Two recently sold examples of Khorassan incense burners at auction include Christie's London, 27 April 2023, lot 20 and Sotheby's London, 26 April 2023, lot 89.