Collection
/
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Lion Head from a Ritual Vessel

525–404 B.C.E.

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Caption

Lion Head from a Ritual Vessel, 525–404 B.C.E.. Faience, 4 1/4 x 2 13/16 x 4 5/16 in. (10.8 x 7.1 x 11 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Peabody Museum, 48.29. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 48.29_bw_SL3.jpg)

Title

Lion Head from a Ritual Vessel

Date

525–404 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 27

Period

First Persian Period

Geography

Place made: Egypt

Medium

Faience

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

4 1/4 x 2 13/16 x 4 5/16 in. (10.8 x 7.1 x 11 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of the Peabody Museum

Accession Number

48.29

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Was most of Egypt not a desert in the ancient times? Don’t lions live in grasslands?

    The climate of Egypt in pharonic times (beginning around 3000 to 2500 BCE) was relatively similar to the climate of Egypt today. At that time, there actually weren't that many lions in Egypt.
    But about 10,000 years ago, the Sahara was not a desert, but a lush grassland full of hunter-gatherer groups. As the region dried out people settled into the Nile Valley and became more organized out of necessity.
    During this organizational period, there were still lions in Egypt. They were revered and there is some evidence that some were even tamed. It was during this period that beliefs around lions and their association with the king was formed. The belief endured even after the lion territory shrank deeper into Africa.

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