Bowl with design of horse and cheetah.
Approx. 900 - 1000
Northeastern Iran; Nishapur
Earthenware with painted slip decoration under glaze. Photographed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in California.

In Iran and India, people used cheetahs like dogs to hunt game. This cheetah is related to composite creatures depicted in Iran as early as 1000 BCE that combine different animal attributes.