The griffin on this throne leg exemplifies the use of powerful winged animals (real and imaginary) as symbols of royalty. The mythical beast’s long history stretches back to about 3000 B.C., when it appeared in the art of Egypt and the Middle East, and it may have been introduced to western Iran through contacts with Sogdian Central Asia. Here, the creature has been adapted to a tradition of animal-legged thrones in Iranian art. In pre-Islamic Iran the griffin—a combination of lion and eagle, two animals associated with the sun—was seen as a vehicle of ascension, implying the ruler’s elevation to the status of a god. In the early years of the Islamic period, new rulers appropriated the symbol to convey power and legitimacy.
#6677. Throne Leg in the Shape of a Griffin, Part 1
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6677. Throne Leg in the Shape of a Griffin, Part 1
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Artwork Details
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Title:Throne Leg in the Shape of a Griffin
Date:late 7th–early 8th century
Geography:Attributed to probably Western Iran
Medium:Bronze; cast around a ceramic core and chased
Dimensions:Overall: H. 22 7/16 in. (57 cm) W. 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm) Greatest: H. 22 7/16 in. (57 cm) W. 3 7/16 in. (8.7 cm) Diam. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
Classification:Metal
Credit Line:Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1971
Object Number:1971.143
Throne Leg in the Shape of a Griffin
Shaped as the forepart of a griffin, a formidable hybrid creature, this throne leg was cast in leaded bronze; the strut, which originally supported the throne with two iron rods, rises from behind the griffin’s neck. The head, chest, and paws are decorated with chased plant motifs, including leaf patterns and floral details, while the fur on the griffin’s face and paws is delineated by curvilinear designs. Continuing a long history of fantastic animal forms in Sasanian and post-Sasanian thrones and other decorative works, this object represents the symbolic identification of winged and particularly powerful animals (real and imaginary) with royalty. In pre-Islamic times the griffin, a combination of two solar symbols (the lion and the eagle), was seen as a vehicle of ascension, implying the ruler’s deification. In the early years of the Islamic period, these royal and religious symbols were appropriated to project an aura of power and legitimacy.[1]
Allegedly one of a pair,[2] this leg stands apart stylistically from other extant related examples.[3] Its attribution and dating have been complicated by the fact that no examples of Sasanian thrones survive. The closest counterparts are two griffin supports, one in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, and the other in the Nizami Museum of Literature in Baku, Azerbaijan.[4] Although the attribution of the Metropolitan’s leg remains inconclusive, the vegetal decoration on the griffin’s chest offers some useful clues. There is no precedent for this particular combination of forms and motifs in the western reaches of the Sasanian Empire. However, wall paintings and sealstones from Panjikent ( present-day Tajikistan) dated to the fifth and sixth centuries show enthroned figures supported by a leg with a griffinlike head bearing foliate decoration. This iconography and distinct decorative detail may have been introduced to Iran during the last century of the Sasanian period, when contacts with Soghdian Central Asia increased. Like the Museum’s silver plate (63.186), this throne leg fits comfortably into the category of post-Sasanian art.
Maryam Ekhtiar in [Ekhtiar, Soucek, Canby, and Haidar 2011]
Footnotes:
1. Welch, S. C., et al. 1987, p. 15.
2. Orbeli 1938–39, p. 719, pls. 240 B, C. According to New York 1978, pp. 97–100, both illustrations may show the same, rather than two different, pieces.
3. New York 1978, p. 99. Prudence Harper, Curator Emerita, Department of Ancient Near East, Metropolitan Museum of Art, studied this piece in great detail in 1978 and published the results in ibid., pp. 97–100.
4. Bretanitskii and Veimarn 1976, p. 40 (Nizami Museum throne leg). See New York 1978, p. 99.
Marking: "32/20" painted in red inside the leg on the interior of the paw, and under the hollow of the strut.
D. David-Weill (French), Paris (by 1938–71; sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris,June 16, 1971, no. 49, to MMA)
London. Burlington House. "International Exhibition of Persian Art," January 7, 1931–February 28, 1931, no. 11.
Wilson, Arnold T. Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Persian Art. 3rd. ed. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1931. no. 11, p. 8. According to Pope 1939: "A Survey of Persian Art", vol. 4, pl. 240B, this throne leg was displayed in the 1931 London exhibition. It belonged to the Stocklet Collection in 1939.
Harari, Ralph, and Richard Ettinghausen. A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present, edited by Arthur Upham Pope. vol. I–VI. London and New York: Oxford University Press, 1938. vol. I, p. 720, ill. vol. IV, pl. 240C. Collection David-Weill. The other leg of this pair belonged to the Stoclet Collection, Brussels in 1939 (pl. 240B) and was displayed in the 1931 London Exhibition of Persian Art, no. 11.
Grabar, Oleg. Sasanian Silver: Late Antique and Early Mediaeval Arts of Luxury from Iran. Ann Arbor, 1967. nos 18–19, 24, pp. 105–6, 111.
Iskusstvo Azerbaidzhana, IV–XVIII vekov.. Moscow, 1976. p. 40.
Harper, Prudence Oliver. The Royal Hunter: Art of the Sasanian Empire. New York, 1978. pp. 97–100.
Ettinghausen, Richard. "Islamic Art." MMA Bulletin vol. 33, no. 1 (Spring 1975). p. 3, ill. (b/w).
Swietochowski, Marie, and Marilyn Jenkins-Madina. Notable Acquisitions 1965–1975 (1975). p. 140, ill. (b/w).
Welch, Stuart Cary. The Islamic World. vol. 11. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. p. 15, ill. fig. 3 (color).
Ekhtiar, Maryam, Priscilla P. Soucek, Sheila R. Canby, and Navina Haidar, ed. Masterpieces from the Department of Islamic Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. no. 4, p. 28, ill. (color).
Kelly, Elizabeth. "A Study of Islamic Metalwork." In Zoomorphic Incense Burners of Medieval Khurasan. Oxford: BAR Publishing, 2024. p.179, ill. fig. 7.19B.
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