Lion Protome

With its open, roaring mouth, this lion appears ready to attack. Six holes around the base of the neck were used to attach the protome to another object, perhaps a large vessel or terracotta shield. The lion head was made by pressing wet clay into a two-piece mold and then joining the two halves of the figure while the clay was still wet. Details of the face were carved with a cutting tool by hand. The same mold that was used to make this lion was also used to produce two other surviving lion heads: one a protome like this, and the other an attachment added to a vessel. Although the maker of this lion protome is unknown, fingerprints were left in the clay on the inside of the object and in the red paint behind the lion’s left ear.

In Crete in the 8th and early 7th centuries B.C., bronze shields decorated with elaborate three-dimensional animal heads were dedicated in sanctuaries as gifts to the gods. This lion protome may have been part of a terracotta reproduction of such an offering. The bronze votive shields copied real shields used for battle in the Near East. Such adaptation of Near Eastern elements was common on the island of Crete during this period, as new artistic ideas flowed into Greece from the Near East.