Anonymous: King Hormizd II or Hormizd III Hunting Lions (AD 400-600)

(Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA)

A silver object made by an unknown Iranian artist. This object is a silver gilt bowl which is decorated with a mounted archer who is hunting lions. The archer is either king Hormizd II (reign AD 302-309) or Hormizd III (reign AD 457-459) of the Sasanian Empire. Hunting lions was a traditional royal sport in many Near Eastern cultures; in art it is often a symbolic scene (it usually represents conquest/ protection against evil etc). Bowl from A.D. 400-600.