Two-seater “sausage” sleigh called “Leu”

The driver of this lion sleigh would have sat astride the padded seat on the lion’s elongated body, which ends in a shell-shaped backrest. The seat doubles as a lid for the storage space inside the body. The carved lion baring its teeth probably dates from 1730/40. The little lion was mounted on top of the runners of the new chassis (painted red) added in the 19th century.