2-740-133 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Segmentum from a Tunic, 750 - 799. A fierce lion with a pronounced mane is shown taking down a large bull on a prestigious red ground with stylized trees and plants. Both animals appear to be lunging toward us, the viewer. The border displays a formal wreath of rosettes. This roundel and two additional matching examples suggest that they originally decorated the front and back of a tunic. The scene is presumably an abbreviated reference to the royal hunt, one of the pleasures of the court that served as propaganda to legitimize the sovereignty of rulers by confirming their ability to control natural resources and manage vast enterprises, especially in the Near East and in Iran.