Padlock, Khorasan, 12th Century
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
12th Century
A feline-shaped padlock with flat flanks and thighs that give the object a geometric rather than naturalistic form. The flanks are decorated with rectangular panels framed by engraved fillets. With the lion facing left the panel is decorated with four half palmettes with one pointed horizontal lobe and the other curling back and ending with a thick knop. When the lion faces right the panel contains three trilobed half-palmettes of similar design. The thighs of the lion are decorated with contoured cartouches.
Patina: Purplish red oxide with limited dull green sulphurous spots.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The lion as an apotropaic symbol that protects doors, dates from earliest Eastern antiquity and continues throughout the Islamic period.
Physical characteristics
- Dimensions
- Height: 5.1 cm; Length: 6.5 cm; Width: 2.4 cm (of head)
- Materials and techniques
- Bronze cast in two, the two halves welded. Engraved decoration.
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Khorasan
Identification
- Candidate id
- vam-O76604
- Museum object number
- M.19-1971
- Object history (museum record)
- Purchased from Monsieur Said Motamed, Frankfurt, 18th May 1971. According to this dealer the padlock was found at Bujnurd, like M.20-1971.
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked single-object source. Wider type attribution and authenticity have not been independently verified.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type and source attribution against specialist references.