Young lion. Greece, 6th-5th century BC. Bronze.... Lot 37

Young lion. Greece, 6th-5th century BC. Bronze. In good state of preservation. Provenance: private collection, Paris. Measurements: 4 cm (length); 2.3 cm (height); 4 cm (height with stand). Greek statuette representing a young lion, which is deduced from the absence of its mane, lying on the ground with his head turned to the right - facing the viewer -, with the front and hind legs gathered, in an attitude of repose. The lion, like the gorgon, symbolized in archaic Greece a protective function. In fact, in this period both motifs appear together frequently, being especially common the representation of a gorgon flanked by two lions. It should also be noted that the double meaning of the oriental lion - both protective talisman and emblem of royal power and authority - is also reflected in works of archaic Greece, as in the case of the representations of lions accompanying the Lady of the Beasts or Potnia theron, where they function as a symbol of her power.