Human-headed winged lion
Not on view
Following the excavation of Assyrian palaces in the mid-nineteenth century, ancient Mesopotamian imagery began to be used in European decorative arts, including jewelry and ceramics. Publicity in the form of news coverage and popular books around the excavations, removal of many sculptures from sites in northern Iraq to England and France, and public spectacles such as the reconstructed ‘Nineveh Court’ in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, London, fostered a fascination with Assyria and Assyrian art among the Victorian public.
This lion is loosely based on the pairs of guardian figures, called lamassu, that stood at important gateways in Assyrian palaces. The originals stood several meters high, and one side of each would have been built into the palace wall. Here the lion is imagined as a freestanding ornament for the home.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
