A glazed earthenware bowl titled "Bowl Depicting King Zahhak with Snakes Protruding from His Shoulders," 12th to 13th century. Zahhak is shown as the tyrant king of the Shahnama, the Persian Book of Kings, whose shoulders sprout serpents that must be fed a daily offering of human brains, ultimately overthrown by the smith Kaveh and the hero Faridun. Held today by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Islamic Art department, under accession 64.274.3.
Cross-Tradition Connections
Belongs to Tradition
Depicts
The Met's own title for this bowl names the subject outright, "King Zahhak," a direct identification rather than a bare thematic tag.
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