Collection record · Small worlds
Pendant
The collection record classifies this work as jewelry. It is dated c. 700 BCE. Recorded culture or place: Sudan, Napatan; lion's head component: probably Egypt, Third Intermediate (1069–715 BCE), Dynasty 25.
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Pendant
- Date
- c. 700 BCE
- Culture / origin
- Sudan, Napatan; lion's head component: probably Egypt, Third Intermediate (1069–715 BCE), Dynasty 25
- Materials and technique
- amethyst and gold
- Dimensions
- Overall: 3.5 x 2.9 x 2.7 cm (1 3/8 x 1 1/8 x 1 1/16 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1987.1
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
This pendant consists of two parts: a superbly carved lion’s head in amethyst that has been set into a D-shaped gold base consisting of a platform surrounded by eight seated baboons. The lion’s head is an heirloom from the New Kingdom, most likely a gaming piece that had been adapted in the Napatan period to serve as an pendant amulet. This procedure was fairly common in antiquity as a means of recycling precious stones. The importance of leonine deities in Nubian religion was obviously the motivating force behind the creation of this spectacular ornament.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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