This bronze is taken from a model made by Stevens in about 1852 for the lion sejant on the dwarf posts by the entrance lodges outside the British Museum, London. The lions are no longer in position, having been removed in 1896; some were placed on railings outside the Charles Holden part of the Law Society building, a mile to the east in Chancery Lane. Others were placed on the railings around the Wellington monument in St Paul's Cathedral, London, after Stevens's death, between 1892 and 1912, when the tomb was removed from the Consistory Chapel in St Paul's. A plaster cast version of Stevens's lion (inv. no. 1891-133b) was transferred to the Department for the Sale of Casts in 1938, from which further castings were produced and offered for sale. Reduced and enlarged versions were also available for sale.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens (1817/18-1875) rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces. Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death. The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement.
The influence of the Italian Renaissance is evident in much of Steven's work, and is perhaps best reflected in the Wellington monument.