This powerful figure of a crouching lion belongs to the beginning of Egypt's historic period, when the process of integrating Upper and Lower Egypt into one centralized state was underway. The simplified sculptural treatment, with the tail curled over the back and the absence of a base, is typical of sculpture from this period, when the Egyptians were learning to master the art of carving in hard stone.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Lion Cub
Period:Early Dynastic Period
Dynasty:Dynasty 1
Date:ca. 3100–2900 B.C.
Geography:From Egypt; Said to be from Southern Upper Egypt, Gebelein (Krokodilopolis)
Medium:Quartzite
Dimensions:L. 23.4 x H. 12 x W. 12.5 cm (9 3/16 x 4 3/4 x 4 15/16 in.)
Credit Line:Purchase, Fletcher Fund and The Guide Foundation Inc. Gift, 1966
Object Number:66.99.2
Purchased in Luxor by Reverend Randolph Berens, ca. 1894. Later in Bruce collection, sold at Sotheby's, Jan. 18, 1951, no. 286. Purchased by Albert Gallatin at a private sale at Spinks, London, 1951. Exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum, December 1959 - February 1960, and published in the exhibition's catalog, 1961. Gallatin Collection purchased by the Metropolitan Museum from Mr. Gallatin's estate, 1966.
Cooney, John 1953. "Egyptian Art in the Collection of Albert Gallatin." In Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 12, p. 2, no. 1.
von Bothmer, Dietrich 1961. Ancient Art from New York Private Collections: Catalogue of an Exhibition Held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 17 1959-February 28, 1960. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 61.
von Bothmer, Dietrich 1961. Ancient Art from New York Private Collections: Catalogue of an Exhibition Held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 17 1959-February 28, 1960. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 13, no. 61.
Fischer, Henry G. 1967. "The Gallatin Egyptian Collection." In The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, new ser., vol. 25, no. 7 (March), pp. 256–258, fig. 4.
Lilyquist, Christine, Peter F. Dorman, and Edna R. Russmann 1983. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 41, no. 3 (Winter), New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 4–5, fig. 3 (ERR).
Arnold, Dorothea 1995. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, new ser., vol. 52, no. 4 (Spring), New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 17, no. 13.
Arnold, Dorothea 2010. "Ruhender Löwe." In Falken, Katzen, Krokodile: Tiere im Alten Ägypten: Aus den Sammlungen des Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, und des Ägyptischen Museums Kairo, edited by Dorothea Arnold. Zurich: Museum Rietberg, p. 31, no. 14.
Patch, Diana Craig 2011. "From Land to Landscape." In Dawn of Egyptian Art, edited by Diana Craig Patch. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 66, n. 110, no. 140 (sic as no. 141).
Patch, Diana Craig 2011. "Early Dynastic Art." In Dawn of Egyptian Art, edited by Diana Craig Patch. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 165–67, no. 140.
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The Met's collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 26,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from the Paleolithic to the Roman period.
