This is the richly carved lid of an oval-shaped stone box. It depicts a scene of a couple holding the stem of a cup from which they sip wine, indicated by the grape vine hanging above. They are luxuriously dressed in a classical style, and sit leisurely and elegantly. The scene is set within a crosshatched rim and surrounded by scrolling scarf-like motifs.Schist box lids provide a rare glimpse into the secular decorative arts of ancient Gandhara and Central Asia. Other stone examples of the period also feature crosshatching and the scrolling motifs. Compare to examples in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, published in Martin Lerner and Steven Kossak, The Lotus Transcendent: Indian and Southeast Asian Art from the Samuel Eilenberg Collection, New York, 1991, figs. 57-61, pp. 91-92. The style of the cup relates to silver goblets and bowls in the ACM collection (2011-02030, 2011-02029, and 2011-02031).
