Artwork Page for Chair Leg

Details / Information for Chair Leg

Chair Leg

300s CE

Afghanistan, Begram, Kushan period

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Medium
ivory
Measurements
Overall: 43.8 cm (17 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1975.103.1
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

This ivory carving was made to sheath wooden furniture made in India for trade along the Silk Road, which stretched from Rome to China. Indian ivory-faced furnishings--along with lacquer boxes from China and painted glass from Rome--were found in an extraordinary deposit of luxury goods at a site called Begram. The wood on which the ivory and lacquer were affixed has long disintegrated, and only the small pieces remain.
A vertically oriented ivory carving in weathered cream depicts a curved chair leg. A rectangular block at the top sits above a band of floral patterns. Below, an elephant head faces right, its trunk descending among relief-carved vines and fruit clusters. The shaft tapers toward the base, which terminates in a detailed animal paw with visible claws. Fine vertical cracks trace the length of the aged material.

Chair Leg

300s CE

Afghanistan, Begram, Kushan period

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