Door lintel with lion-griffins and vase with lotus leaf

Door lintel with lion-griffins and vase with lotus leaf

Unknown artist

Details

Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
28 1/8 × 66 1/2 × 4 in. (71.4 × 168.9 cm × 10.2 cm)
Origin
Parthian
Holding institution
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1932

Art Genome Taxonomy

11 tags

Artistic Disciplines

  • Architecture Metadata · 98%

    The catalog classifies the work as a door lintel, an architectural element.

Subject Matter

  • Animals Both · 99%

    The title identifies lion-griffins, and the image visibly shows two winged, leonine creatures.

  • The paired figures combine leonine bodies with wings and other fantastical features; the title explicitly calls them lion-griffins.

  • Flora Both · 93%

    The title refers to a lotus leaf, and a stylized vegetal form rises from the central vase.

Visual Qualities

  • Symmetrical Visual · 98%

    The composition is organized around a central vase, with nearly mirrored winged creatures facing inward from either side.

  • Highly Ornamented Visual · 86%

    The wings, manes, tails, vase, vegetal motif, and border are articulated with repeated incised and raised details across the surface.

Medium and Techniques

  • Relief Visual · 99%

    The projecting figures and ornament are carved in shallow-to-moderate relief against a continuous stone slab.

  • Carving Visual · 96%

    The raised forms, incised details, and modeled contours indicate carving in a stone architectural element.

Time Periods

  • Ancient Art Metadata · 94%

    The catalog dates the lintel to approximately the 2nd through early 3rd century CE, placing it within ancient art.

Materials

  • Stone Both · 99%

    The catalog identifies the medium as limestone, while the image visibly shows a pale carved stone slab.

Tableware, Vessels, and Objects

  • Vase Both · 98%

    A central handled vase-like form is clearly visible, and the title identifies it as a vase.

Source & rights

Unknown artist. Door lintel with lion-griffins and vase with lotus leaf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.