A replica of the Khosro Cup is currently on display as part of our Imagining the Divine exhibition (19 October 2017 – 18 February 2018).
The enthroned figure in the centre is probably Khosro I, a sixth-century ruler of the Sasanian Persian Empire who was later revered in the Islamic period as an ideal ruler. By the 13th century, the cup was part of the Treasure of the Abbey of St Denis in Paris, where it was believed to portray and have been made for the Biblical King Solomon. It was perhaps a gift to the Carolingian emperor Charlemagne from the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid in the early 9th century, or was taken to Paris after the sack of Constantinople in 1204. The original is now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France and is far too precious and fragile to travel. Making this replica was only possible due to new 3D scanning and printing technologies.
Find out more about the British Museum & Oxford University Empires of Faith research project here.