Voussoir with Lion

late 12th–early 13th century

On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 03

This angled stone, which depicts a lion snapping at the thick vine encircling its body, once formed part of an arched door frame. The vegetal pattern likely continued on the adjacent blocks (now lost), uniting the archway’s individual stones. Said to come from Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, in fact the sculpture’s origin remains a mystery. By the mid-nineteenth century, it decorated the garden of Pierre-Yon Vernière in Aniane, near Saint-Guilhem, and Barnard purchased it from the dealer Louis Cornillon.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Voussoir with Lion
Date: late 12th–early 13th century
Geography: Made in Languedoc, France
Culture: South French
Medium: Stone
Dimensions: 12 1/4 × 11 × 6 3/4 in. (31.1 × 27.9 × 17.1 cm)
Classification: Sculpture-Architectural
Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1925
Object Number: 25.120.122
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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