Bowl Depicting King Zahhak with Snakes Protruding from His Shoulders

Not on view

The bowl portrays the legendary king Zahhak with two snakes protruding from his shoulders. Although the object was believed to be medieval, recent thermoluminescence analysis proved that it was fired shortly before its exhibition at Philadelphia’s Sesquicentennial International Exposition in 1926. Plain medieval pieces were sometimes recut with new designs with more market appeal, reglazed, and refired.

Bowl Depicting King Zahhak with Snakes Protruding from His Shoulders, Earthenware; slipped and carved under a transparent colorless, brown, and green glaze

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