How can I display just a portion of an image in HTML/CSS?

Question

Let's say I want a way to display just the the center 50x50px of an image that's 250x250px in HTML. How can I do that. Also, is there a way to do this for css:url() references?

I'm aware of clip in CSS, but that seems to only work when used with absolute positioning.

Answer 1

As mentioned in the question, there is the clip css property, although it does require that the element being clipped is position: absolute; (which is a shame):

.container {
  position: relative;
}
#clip {
  position: absolute;
  clip: rect(0, 100px, 200px, 0);
  /* clip: shape(top, right, bottom, left); NB 'rect' is the only available option */
}

<div class="container">
  <img src="http://lorempixel.com/200/200/nightlife/3" />
</div>
<div class="container">
  <img id="clip" src="http://lorempixel.com/200/200/nightlife/3" />
</div>