Semi-circular lunette from above a double window

Historical period(s)
second half 14th century
Medium
Gray limestone
Dimensions
H x W x D: 79.2 × 132.5 × 16 cm (31 3/16 × 52 3/16 × 6 5/16 in)
Geography
Iran
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1936.5
On View Location
Freer Grand Staircase Corridor
Classification(s)
Architectural Element, Stone
Type

Lunette

Keywords
Iran
Provenance

To 1936
Dikran G. Kelekian (1868-1951), Cairo, Egypt, Paris, France, and New York to 1936 [1]

From 1936
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Dikran G. Kelekian, New York in 1936 [2]

Notes:

[1] Undated folder sheet note. See Freer Gallery or Art Purchase List after 1920, Collections Management Office.

[2] See note 1.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Dikran Garabed Kelekian 1868-1951

Label

This stone relief panel originally served as the lunette for a pair of tall, narrow windows in a secular building. The cusped window openings at the lower edge of the lunetter are surmounted by a pair of seated lions. Another striding lion marks the center of the lunette's outer band, in which an antelope and winged griffin are depicted to the left and a winged sphinx and stag to the right.


The lunette belongs to a group of related architectural elements found in the town of Kubatcha in the Russian region of Dagestan on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The dating of these pieces is based on the style of their animal and floral decoration.

Published References
  • Global Textile Encounters. fig. 14.6a.
  • Ozden Suslu. Tasvirlere Gore Anadolu Selcuklu Kiyafetleri [Pieces from the Metropolitan and Daghestan Museums]. Ataturk Kultur Merkezi yayini, sayi 35 Ankara. pls. 269-271.
  • Smithsonian Institution. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, 1936. Washington, 1936-1937. appendix 3, pl. 1.
  • Smithsonian Institution. Report of the Secretary, 1935. Washington, 1935-1936. pl. 1.
  • Gosudarstvennyi Ermitazh. Masterpieces of Islamic art in the Hermitage Museum. Kuwait. cat. 60.
  • A. A. Ivanov, R. A. Alikhanov. The Art of Kubachi. Leningrad. .
  • Jean-Paul Roux. L'Islam dans les Collections Nationales: Paris, Grand-Palais, 2 mai - 22 aout, 1977. Exh. cat. Paris. cat. 208.
  • Dr. Esin Atil. Exhibition of 2500 Years of Persian Art. Exh. cat. Washington, 1971. cat. 82.
  • Whitney N. Morgan. Museum Acquisitions. vol. 10, no. 1 New York, January 1938. pp. 26-29.
  • Aleksej Stepanovic Bashkiroff. The Art of Daghestan. Moscow. p. 39, pl. 8.
  • Oleg Grabar, Bassem El Jesr. Musee de L'Institut du Monde Arabe. Paris. p. 50.
  • Friedrich Paul Theodor Sarre. Der Kiosk von Konia. Berlin. p. 53, pl. 17.
  • Zvezdana Vladimirovna Dode. Kubachi Reliefs: a fresh look at ancient stones. Materials for the study of historical and cultural heritage of the Northern Caucasus, vol. X Moscow. p. 90, fig. 52.
  • Sculpture Collection of the Cincinnati Art Museum. Cincinnati. p. 95.
  • Alfred Salmony. Daghestan Sculptures. vol. 10 Ann Arbor. pp. 153-163, fig. 7.
  • Jose Pijoan. Arte Islamico. vol. 12, Summa artis, historia general del arte, 1st ed. Madrid. p. 323, fig. 450.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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