Figure of a Lion
850-650 BCE
Description
This small lion carved of black basalt is missing the lower parts of its legs and its lower jaw. It is roughly worked underneath, where it was drilled lengthwise to separate its legs; the drill hole (diameter 0.6 cm) continues into the snout. A drill was also used to create an opening between front paws and snout. The loss of the tips of all four legs, the shape of the remaining front legs, the use of a drill to create the legs, and the somewhat underdeveloped hindquarters of the lion all suggest that the animal was an attachment to a larger object. Most likely, it sat on the exterior of a bowl or other vessel and peeked over its rim.
Dimensions
2.8 × 2.2 × 5 cm (1 1/8 × 7/8 × 1 15/16 in.)
Provenance
[Oscar Meyer Antiquities, Los Angeles (by 1970)], purchase; by Nanette B. Kelekian, New York (1970-2021), bequest; to the Harvard Art Museums.
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