Achaemenid Iron Spout in the Form of a Lion's Head

5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.

1 3/8 in. (4 in.) (81 grams total, head: 36 mm wide, 10 cm including stand).

Protome in the shape of a lion's head with deep, triangular eye sockets, the wreath-shaped mane transitioning into a rounded socket with a drilled hole on each side of the neck; mounted on a custom-made stand.

Provenance

Private collection, Switzerland, prior 1983; thence by descent.

Literature

Cf. Museum of Fine Arts Boston, accession number 98.694.

Footnotes

The drill hole through the gaping mouth suggests that the head may have served as a spout.

CONDITION

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LOT 1910