The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Roundels with King Spearing Lion

prior to 1971

Iran or Iraq, in the style of the Abbasid period

(750–1258)
Silk: lampas weave
Overall: 74.2 x 85.7 cm (29 3/16 x 33 3/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1971.25
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Only one roundel is complete, but 9 other partial roundels are also preserved on this fragment.

Description

This fragment preserves tangent and aligned roundels arranged in 3 rows. Each roundel depicts a king with an impaled lion at end of a spear; the image is reversed in alternate columns. The roundels have a pearled border. Interspaces are ornamented with a motif composed of four palmettes in an X formation.
  • ?-1971
    (Nassiri Amini, Tehran, Iran, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1971-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1971.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 59, no. 1, 1972, pp. 3–46. Mentioned: p. 45, no. 127 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 271 archive.org
  • Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972).
  • {{cite web|title=Roundels with King Spearing Lion|url=false|author=|year=prior to 1971|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.25