Statuette of a Recumbent Lion

Place of OriginEgypt, reportedly Damanhur (Hermopolis Mikra)

DatePtolemaic or Roman Period (350 BCE - 100 CE)

Dimensions5 1/8 × 4 1/8 × 11 3/8 in. (13 × 10.5 × 28.9 cm)

MediumCast bronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1950.9

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionA cast bronze figure of a male lion depicted in a recumbent pose. The animal lies flat with both forepaws extended forward in parallel; the tail curves around the right haunch, resting on the distinct base. The head is held erect, featuring a stylized mane composed of incised, striated lines that form a ruff around the neck and extend down the chest. The facial features include a broad nose and deep, empty eye sockets which originally held inlaid materials (likely glass paste, copper, or silver). The ears are rounded and prominent. The underside of the lion is open with a large rectangular cavity, indicating it was originally attached to a larger architectural element or piece of furniture. The surface presents a dark brown metallic finish, having been chemically stripped of a heavy green patina in 1950.

Label TextThis majestic lion, with its attentive gaze and extended paws, was likely created to guard a sacred space. The hollow rectangular opening beneath its body suggests it was originally attached to a larger structure, such as the door bolt of a temple shrine or a piece of ceremonial furniture. The object's function is indicated by a large cavity on the underside, suggesting it served as a tenon or attachment point. It likely surmounted a shrine lock or decorated the corner of a naos (shrine) dedicated to a leonine deity. The provenance reported by the vendor, E.S. David, places the findspot at Damanhur (Hermopolis Mikra). However, Egyptologist John Cooney argued for an origin at Leontopolis (Tell al-Muqdam), the center of the cult of Maahes (Mahes), the lion-headed son of Bastet or Sekhmet.Published References

"Fiftieth Anniversary," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, no. 130, Nov.-Dec. 1951, repr.

Toledo Museum of Art, A Guide to the Collections, Toledo, 1966, repr. p. 4

Luckner, Kurt T., "The Art of Egypt, Part 2," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, new series, vol. 14, no. 3, Fall 1971, p. 75, repr.

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 90, repr. (col.).

Exhibition History

Toledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, October 29, 2010-January 8, 2012.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Agyptische Altertumer aus der Skulpturensammlung Dresden, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Ausstellung im Albertinum, Mai 1977; p. 37, nos. 34-36, pls. 84-85.

cf. Müller H.W., "Löwenskulpturen in der Ägyptischen Sammlung des Bayerischen Staats," Münchner Jahrbuch der Bildenden Kunst, Dritte Folge Band XVI, 1965, pp. 7-46.

cf. Jones, H. Stuart (ed.), A Catalogue of the Ancient Sculptures Preserved in the Municipal Collections of Rom, The Sculptures of the Museo Capitolino, Oxford, 1912, p. 358, nos. 8, 9, pl. 90, nos. 8, 9.