Achaemenid applique in the shape of a lion's head

This applique is in the form of a lion’s head, facing to the right with its mouth open in a roar. The eye is shown in profile with the lid outlined. Its snout is indicated by a series of raised horizontal lines between the nose and the mouth and above the nose, and two forked whiskers are shown on the cheek. The mouth has two canine teeth, one in the upper jaw and one in the lower, both with a vertical groove. The lion’s tongue is visible behind the lower tooth, and the lips are rendered with two thick lines around the edge of the mouth. The face is separated from the mane by a thick, raised line. Above the line is a pointed ear with two vertical grooves. The openwork mane consists of eleven thick lines radiating from the back of the lion’s head, interspersed with raised dots.

The original of this work is kept in the Met Museum.