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 1975.103.2
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 weathered, tan ivory sculpture depicts a fragmented chair leg terminating in a thick, three-toed animal paw. The rectangular top features a square cutout and circular hole, below which a female figure wearing a beaded necklace emerges. Her torso blends into overlapping scale-like patterns that texture the leg, while two small tusks protrude from her sides. A ruffled cuff sits directly above the paw.

Chair Leg

300s CE

Afghanistan, Begram, Kushan period

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