A KHORASAN BRONZE ‘LION’ SPOUT, 12TH-13Th CENTURY
Lot 115 - ANT1125

Expert’s Note
Khorasan, literally “the Land of the Rising Sun,” was a vast historical region encompassing northeastern Iran, western Afghanistan, and parts of Turkmenistan and Central Asia. Renowned from antiquity through the Islamic Golden Age, it stood as a center of learning, trade, and exquisite metalwork, where Persian, Central Asian, and nomadic traditions converged to shape one of the most refined artistic cultures of the medieval world.

Cast in the form of a seated lion with its legs joint together and jaws open wide, the mouth serving as the spout opening, the head detailed with bulging eyes, pronounced brows, and a ridged mane, the back with schematic fur markings. The lion is set upon a drop-shaped backplate.

Provenance: From a Belgian private collection. Artcurial, Paris, 4 November 2014, lot 117. The Collection of Françoise and Claude Bourelier. Françoise and Claude Bourelier were passionate French collectors who traveled extensively in search of the beauty and diversity of world civilizations. Back in Paris, they immersed themselves in their vast library to deepen their understanding of each culture and to enrich a collection that encompassed terracotta and bronzes from the Iranian world, Islamic ceramics, Chinese and Japanese art, Persian and Indian miniatures, as well as contemporary glass and objets d’art.
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, commensurate with age. Casting irregularities, signs of weathering and erosion, tiny nicks, and a chip to the tip of the base plate. The bronze with a naturally grown dark patina and malachite encrustations.

Weight: 194 g
Dimensions: Length 7.5 cm

The lion, an apotropaic symbol of protection, has guarded doorways since the earliest Eastern antiquity, a tradition that continued throughout the Islamic period. Such zoomorphic spouts were originally affixed to basins, fountains, or large vessels, where the lion’s open mouth would discharge water.