Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Pillar capital in the form of a winged lion
Not on view
This winged lion capital would have sat atop a pillar (stambha) at the entrance to a religious enclosure. Its hybrid form, with a lion’s head and forebody and wings that morph into the tail of an aquatic creature, embodies the cultural exchange between West Asia and India in the early centuries BCE. The winged lion is identified with Achaemenid Iran but can ultimately be traced to sphinx capitals from Attic Greek grave-marker columns. The creature was an immensely popular motif in early Buddhist stupa decoration and often merged with crocodile and elephant elements into the mythical aquatic creature known as the makara. Winged lions, griffins, and other leonine creatures were a regular feature of early Buddhist scenes of devotion and a prominent feature of stupa gateways and railings.
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