Capital with Lions Mounted by Nude Riders
Lions, humans, and snakes encircle this capital in a dynamic composition that transforms the block’s four separate sides into a continuous parade of creatures. The sculptures of ancient Rome, which celebrated the nude form and often incorporated such symbolically powerful beasts as lions and snakes, inspired the creation of this wild and enigmatic object. Many ancient artworks were available to medieval art makers, and western European sculptors working around the year 1100 seem to have studied them particularly closely, though their own creations reveal that they were less interested in directly copying antiquity than in reinterpreting it for their own purposes. For such works, which typically decorated churches, pagan subjects took on new, Christian significances. Though its site of origin is unknown, in its style and choice of subjects this capital is similar to sculptures made for the Cathedral of Jaca in the northern Spanish province of Aragon and for the church of Saint-Sernin de Toulouse in southern France, two sites closely connected across the Pyrenees. Its distinctive stone, which captured tiny, fossilized marine creatures, is quarried on both sides of these mountains.
Artwork Details
- Title: Capital with Lions Mounted by Nude Riders
- Date: first half 12th century
- Geography: Made in nothern Spain or southern France
- Culture: North Spanish or South French
- Medium: Stone
- Dimensions: Overall: 19 x 18 1/2 x 19 in. (48.3 x 47 x 48.3 cm)
weight: 249lb. (112.9kg) - Classification: Sculpture-Architectural
- Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1922
- Object Number: 22.219
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
French
ca. 1150–60
French
ca. 1145
Jean de Liège
ca. 1381
French
ca. 1300–1310
French
ca. 1260–80
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.