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Ritual Basin

6th–8th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 236
Decorating the side of this basin is a frieze depicting two dragons attacking a boy. The youth holds a flower to his nose and clutches the horn of an antelope. The dragons are composite animals with segmented bodies and are related to similar creatures represented on post-Sasanian metalwork from the Oxus River basin of northern Afghanistan.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ritual Basin
  • Date: 6th–8th century
  • Culture: Afghanistan or Central Asia
  • Medium: Bronze
  • Dimensions: Diam. 7 11/16 in. (19.5 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork
  • Credit Line: Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Ex Coll.: Columbia University, Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1987
  • Object Number: 1987.218.6
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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