Couchant lion thumbnail 1
Couchant lion thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 8, The William and Eileen Ruddock Gallery

Couchant lion

Column Base
ca. 1200 (carved)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Apulia (made)

This lion formed the support for a column the base of which was carved integrally. The weathering of the lion, which is most severe around the head suggests that it was used externally to flank a door or window. The relatively small size of the lion means it is comparable to examples beside the windows in the apses of the cathedrals of Bitonto and Troia and on the façade of the Cathedral at Termoli.


Object details

Categories
Access_to_Images 2003
Sculpture
Object type
Column base
TitleCouchant lion (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved marble
Marble
Carved
Brief description
Marble column base in the shape of a couchant lion, South Italian, possibly Apulia, ca. 1200
Physical description
The lion is carved in one with its rectangular base and the base of the column resting on its back. The head of the lion is turned to its right, and the end of the tail rests on its left flank.
Dimensions
  • Height: 56.3cm
  • Base width: 71cm
  • Base depth: 32.4cm
  • Weight: 200kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history
This marble lion, one of a pair, is heavily weathered, and so would appear to have been originally displayed in an external position, probably as Pope-Hennessy (cat. nos. 10 and 11) suggested, as flanking a window on the outside of the church. Similar lions may be seen in various places Apulia, at Bitonto, Troia and Trani.

Apulia seems the most likely place these two lions were executed, around 1200.
Subject depicted
Lion
Summary
This lion formed the support for a column the base of which was carved integrally. The weathering of the lion, which is most severe around the head suggests that it was used externally to flank a door or window. The relatively small size of the lion means it is comparable to examples beside the windows in the apses of the cathedrals of Bitonto and Troia and on the façade of the Cathedral at Termoli.
Associated object
324-1889
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1889. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1890. pp. 34
  • Pope Hennessey, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964. pp.11
  • Williamson, Paul. Catalogue of Romanesque Sculpture. London, V&A Publications, 1983. pp. 82-3
  • Prandi, A et al. L'art dans l'Italie méridionale. Aggiornamento dell'opera di Emile Bertaux. Rome, 1978, vi.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
324A-1889

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O16296/couchant-lion-column-base-unknown/
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