- Provenance
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From 1943-45 to 1980
Private collector, purchased in Iran. [1]From 1980
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of a private collector. [2]Notes:
[1] According to the donor, object was purchased in Iran between 1943 and 1945. See note by the donor dated from November 24, 1980, copy in object folder, Collection Management Office.
[2] Object was donated in 1980 to the Freer Study Collection, and later transferred to the Permanent Collection in April 1993. See Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List after 1920 file, Collections Management Office.
- Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)
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Joseph M. Upton died 1981
- Description
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Ellipsoid shaped seal with engraved design of a couchant lion to the right and a Pahlavi inscription above.
- Inscription(s)
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Pahlavi inscription.
- Label
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Ellipsoid seal with engraved design of a couchant lion to the right and a Pahlavi inscription above. Seals with the motif of a lion have been excavated on sealings or bullae at sites like Takht-e Sulaiman and Qasr Abu Nasr in Iran. The lion is a frequent motif on Sasanian seals. In Zoroastrianism the lion is a creation of the Ahreman.Throughout the Sasanian period, rulers are depicted as hunting or slaughtering lions, and in the "Shahname" the lion is a conventional term for a great warrior.
- Published References
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- Antonietta Catanzariti. The Ancient Near East Seal Collection. Washington. .
- Collection Area(s)
- Ancient Near Eastern Art
- SI Usage Statement
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Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)
This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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International Image Interoperability Framework
FS-F1993.15.5_001