Stair-riser
Unknown (Kushan)
- British Museum
[Museum inv. no.: 1880.31]
Item location
Description
Stair-riser length showing musicians, drinkers and dancers. The first twelve figures, now headless, are read from right to left. A woman (1) frontal in a long tunic under a shorter one perhaps holds a drinking cup; a male (2) in a knee-length tunic turned sideways and joining his hands [in a dance gesture like (8)] faces (3), a woman in a draped garment over a long tunic and holding a barrel drum. A male (4), in a knee-length tunic, turns towards (5), a woman, probably like (1), who holds a drinking vessel and raises an arm towards (4); a portly woman (6) standing frontally, seems dressed like (3), while another woman (7) repeats (5) for dress and the vessel she holds. The male dancer (8) repeats (2) but has boots; he faces (9), a woman with a pipe or shawm dressed like (3) except that her draped overgarment covers both legs. A woman (10) stands almost frontally like (6) but girt below the breasts and holds a kantharos and a lotus at shoulder level while, beyond, a male (12) in a long overgarment plunging across the legs embraces (11), a woman dressed like (1) and (5), while (13), a damaged woman beyond, with vestiges of a head, reaches out one hand with a bracelet to remove his garment. The next six figures are: (14), a woman with a barrel drum and dressed like (1), (5), (7) and (10); (15), a musician, dressed like (3), his instrument a narrow harp with diagonal strings; a woman piper (16) dressed like (3); and another, (17), carrying a kantharos, dressed like (10) and facing (16); a booted male (18), like (8), seen in profile, dancing with joined hands, while the woman (19) beyond is playing the same type of instrument as (15) and is dressed like (17).Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)
Drum [2585]Wind instruments [3730]
Harp [3285]
RIdIM images
