Stone with Lion and Peacock Designs

One side of this long piece of granite is polished, and features a cluster of three engraved circles. In the smallest circle, at the far right, a lion is curled around a tree, while the middle circle, which has a beaded border, shows two birds, reminiscent of peacocks, with their heads lowered toward one another, separated by a tree. The largest circle, on the left, is also lined with bead designs, but is unfinished and bears no interior engravings. Although the exact use of this stone is unknown, the bead design bands and the symmetrical arrangement of the two birds demonstrate the influence of Central Asian culture. It is estimated to be from the 8th century.