Finial, lion head
Medium:Wood, gesso, paint
Geography: Egypt
Date: c. 30 BC-642 AD
Period: Roman Period
Dimensions:8.9 × 6.9 × 6.5 cm
Object number: 910.37.11
Credit Line: Gift Of Mrs. H.D. Warren
Gallery Location:Galleries of Africa: Egypt
Description
This rather
wistful-looking lion head once
belonged to a piece of furniture, most likely the leg of a funerary bed. The whole leg, with head, forepart, and legs
was usually carved from one piece of wood, so it is likely that this lion was
removed from the rest at some point in the past. This lion comes from a set of three acquired
by C.T. Currelly in Egypt from Theodore Davis around 1906. Sometimes two lions supported each side of a
funeral bed, as in ROM 910.27.
During the Roman period, a
funerary bed was sometimes used to support the mummy in the tomb
chamber, and perhaps during the funerary rites
