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The "Cleveland Hormizd Plate"
A Sasanian King Hunting Lions
Dish: King Hormizd II or Hormizd III Hunting Lions, 400-600
Iran, Sasanian, 5th-6th Century
Silver gilt
Overall: 4.60 x 20.80 cm (1 3/4 x 8 3/16 inches).
Description: Lion hunting was a traditional royal sport in many Near Eastern cultures; in art it was sometimes symbolic of a historic conquest. Here, details of the king's and the horse's equipment are in the style of the 5th-century Hormizd III. The crown, however, resembles that of Hormizd II (AD 303-309), so this plate may be commemorative.
The Cleveland Museum of Art 1962.150
Photo by Daderot