A RARE KHORASAN ‘LIONESS’ BRONZE SPOUT, 12TH-13Th CENTURY
Lot 114 - 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 as the fierce head of a lioness, her almond-shaped eyes set beneath sharply arched brows, the rounded ears raised in alert tension, and the powerful cheeks flaring outward. The jaws gape open in a silent growling, forming the spout aperture, while the elongated neck lends the piece an almost regal poise—capturing the animal’s latent ferocity.

Provenance: From a Belgian private collection. Artcurial, Paris, 4 November 2014, lot 117. The Collection of Françoise and Claude Bourelier. With an old label ‘202’ to the interior. 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, warping, remnants of gilt, tiny nicks. The bronze with a naturally grown dark patina.

Weight: 141 g
Dimensions: Height 8 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 incense burners, basins, fountains, or large vessels, where the lion’s open mouth would discharge water.

Fittings, vessels, and incense burners in the form of lions were popular in 11th and 12th Century Persia. The most famous of these is a massive example in the form of a feline dated AH 577 or 9/ AD 1181 or 3 that is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Stuart Cary Welch, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Islamic World, New York, 1987, no. 27, pp. 39-41). This is the first incense burner that combines zoomorphic and anamorphic elements, and there appear to be no other such published examples, rendering this lot unique.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams London, 14 October 2004, lot 281
Mid-estimate: GBP 9,000 or approx. EUR 18,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Khorasan bronze Incense Burner, Persia, 11th/12th Century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling of the lioness head and similar facial features. Note the different object type and size (15.5 cm).