Semi-circular lunette from above a double window

Object Details

• Label

  This stone relief panel originally served as the lunette for a pair of tall, narrow windows in a secular building. The cusped window openings at the lower edge of the lunetter are surmounted by a pair of seated lions. Another striding lion marks the center of the lunette's outer band, in which an antelope and winged griffin are depicted to the left and a winged sphinx and stag to the right.

  The lunette belongs to a group of related architectural elements found in the town of Kubatcha in the Russian region of Dagestan on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The dating of these pieces is based on the style of their animal and floral decoration.

• Provenance

  To 1936

  Dikran G. Kelekian (1868-1951), Cairo, Egypt, Paris, France, and New York to 1936 [1]

  From 1936

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Dikran G. Kelekian, New York in 1936 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Freer Gallery or Art Purchase List after 1920, Collections Management Office.

  [2] See note 1.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Engaging the Senses (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Chinese and Korean Ceramics (July 11, 1986 to March 13, 1987)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Corridor (December 10, 1984 to July 10, 1986)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Corridor (March 6, 1981 to May 7, 1984)

  Art of the Near East (August 21, 1977 to December 14, 1979)

  Near Eastern Art (June 15, 1973 to May 7, 1975)

  2500 Years of Persian Art—Calligraphy (February 10, 1972 to June 15, 1973)

  Untitled Exhibition, North Corridor (November 20, 1969 to December 11, 1984)

  Near Eastern Art--Calligraphy (August 18, 1967 to February 10, 1972)

  Near Eastern Art (January 1, 1963 to August 18, 1967)

  Centennial Exhibition, North Corridor (February 25, 1956 to November 20, 1969)

  Untitled Exhibition, Asian Sculpture, North Corridor (May 2, 1923 to October 28, 1955)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dikran Garabed Kelekian (1868-1951)

• Origin

  Iran

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Architectural Element

• On View

  Freer Grand Staircase Corridor

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Name

  Kelekian, Dikran Garabed

• Topic

  Stag, Art, Sphinx, Arts of the Islamic World, Stone

• Culture

  Muslims, Iranians

• Object Type

  Architectural elements

• On View

  Yes