Recumbent lion

Summary

Head scalped, eyes and eye region damaged. Left back corner of plinth broken off. Upper jaw has been broken off, but is preserved. Teeth poorer than IN 1296, but already repaired in antiquity. Traces of the original painting is still visible to the naked eye: whiskers, warts and eye surroundings stand bleached against the rest of the statues weathered surface, because the original pigments from the paint has preserved the surface in those areas. The statue has been examined with Visible Induced Luminescence and showed no traces of the use of Egyptian Blue in the original colouring.

Description of object

The raised head makes the animal less cat-like than its companion (IN 1296), slightly bigger, and somewhat more aggressive. There is, though, hardly any doubt that the master of both of them is the same. (see description IN 1296). They were probably placed on tombs.

Head scalped, eyes and eye region damaged. Left back corner of plinth broken off. Upper jaw has been broken off, but is preserved. Teeth poorer than IN 1296, but already repaired in antiquity: Left canine of upper jaw apparently lost during cutting and replaced by a pivot tooth of lead, which very artfully and professionally has been cast in through a hole in the jaw. “Negative” colouring of face corresponds to IN 1296, but there are here also “positive” traces of red pigment on the tongue.

Choice of methods

Visual examination

• Macroscopic

Technical imaging

• VIL

Bibliography

F. Poulsen (1951), Catalogue of Ancient Sculpture in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, cat. No. 6.

H. Gabelmann (1965), Studien zum frühgriechischen Löwenbild, Berlin.

F. Johansen (1994), Catalogue. Greece in the Archaic Period. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, cat. No. 3.

V. Brinkmann (2003), Die Polychromie der archaischen und frühklassischen Skulptur, München, fig. 235 a+b.