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Mytological Animals

MYTOLOGICAL ANIMALS

5,202 photos
Carved water tortoise from Allahabad, India, 17th century. The turtle is a "Kachuga dongaka, a species native to the river Jumna, which meets the Ganges at Allahabad. It was found at the bottom of a water cistern, and might have been made as a rare ornament for the garden pool at the princes's palace. OA 1830.6-12.1
#03060125

Carved water tortoise from Allahabad, India, 17th century. The turtle is a "Ka...

Pillar capital, Kushan dynasty, 1st CE. Covered with Prakrit inscriptions in the Kharoshthi script, the form of writing of acient north-western India. Between the two lions is a square crowning relief bearing auspicious symbols like the triratna,which stands for the veneration of the Buddha, his monastic order and dharma, the code of religious conduct that the Buddha professed. OA 1889.3-14.1
#03060126

Pillar capital, Kushan dynasty, 1st CE. Covered with Prakrit inscriptions in the...

Limestone relief panel depicting the departure of Prince Siddharta; from the dome of the Great Stupa, 2nd CE. He starts on a spiritual quest that leads him to Buddhahood. His presence is symbolically referred to by the parasol held over his horse, Kanthaka. OA 1880.7-9.51
#03060128

Limestone relief panel depicting the departure of Prince Siddharta; from the dom...

Relief showing a scene from a sutra. From Borobudur, Java, 750-850 CE.
#03060134

Relief showing a scene from a sutra. From Borobudur, Java, 750-850 CE.

A pair of fragments of silk, 3rd - 5th CE. These two fragments might once have formed part of a banner headpiece. When discovered by Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943), they were stitched together to form a larger triangle backed with plain silk and bordered with red tape. The distinctive motif of paired dragons and winged birds is unlike any other textile found there. OA MAS 926a,b.
#03060148

A pair of fragments of silk, 3rd - 5th CE. These two fragments might once have f...

Pottery jar with dragon handles, chinese, 4th-3rd BCE. This funerary jar of the late Zhou or early Han dynasty is made of grey earthenware. It was clearly intended to imitate a bronze vessel, more expensive and carrying greater status. Pottery placed in burials that imitated bronze and laquer came into use during the Easter Zhou period (771-221 BCE). The handles of the jar are in the shape of dragons. OA 1933.10-25.1
#03060150

Pottery jar with dragon handles, chinese, 4th-3rd BCE. This funerary jar of the...

Painted wooden panel showing riders with bowls into which birds dive, from Dandan-oilik, Khotan oasis, Xinjiang province, China, 6th CE.Before the advent of Islam in the 8th century, Khotan was a thriving kingdom along the Southern Silk Route. Dandan-oilik was a Buddhist sanctuary there and became Sir Aurel Stein's first excavation site in the Desert of Taklamakan. The panels are the best surviving evidence of the legendary Khotanese school of painting. OA 1907.11-11.70
#03060153

Painted wooden panel showing riders with bowls into which birds dive, from Danda...

Archaistic jade ring in the form of a dragon and a boy, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century. The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) had re-established Chinese rule, taking over from the Mongols (Yuan dynasty,1279-1368). Chinese traditions and styles were revived in all things. Many ceramics and jades were modelled on ancient forms. OA 1885.12-27.93
#03060164

Archaistic jade ring in the form of a dragon and a boy, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th...

A procession of Chinese dignitaries, 1808. The procession, including a palanquin, is making its way inland from the sea. Winding its way through the colourful village it passes a group of kneeling spectators. From the transformations of "Sakya Tathagata" by Kang Yu-Feng.
#03060169

A procession of Chinese dignitaries, 1808. The procession, including a palanquin...

Bahram hunting. From the "Five poems of Nizam",1539-1543 ID: Or 2265 fol f 202 verso
#030602 2

Bahram hunting. From the "Five poems of Nizam",1539-1543 ID: Or 2265 fol f 202...

Hunters on horseback hunting deer, 1595. ID: Ethe 2992, fol.568 verso.
#030602 3

Hunters on horseback hunting deer, 1595. ID: Ethe 2992, fol.568 verso.

Battle between Babhruvahana, son of Arjuna the archer in Hinduism, fights against the snakes of the nether regions. Peacocks and other birds attack the snakes, some of which are hooded cobras. The men stand in chariots or ride horses with decorated cparisons, some use bows and arrows. From the Persian version of the "Mahabharata", parvans XIV - XVIII. Authorship is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa. ID: Or 12076
#030602 4

Battle between Babhruvahana, son of Arjuna the archer in Hinduism, fights agains...