Lion in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, October 2009

Lion
about 550 B.C.

Dimensions- Overall: 95.3 x 58 x 38 cm (37 1/2 x 22 13/16 x 14 15/16 in.)

Material: Limestone (originally coated with smooth plaster and painted)

Classification: Sculpture

Accession Number: 97.289

Text from: www.mfa.org/collections/object/lion-151017

and

Lion
Greece. Said to be found at Perachora on the Isthmus of Corinth, Greece
Archaic period, about 550 BC
Limestone, originally coated with smooth plaster and painted

# 97.289

Sitting majestically on a cushion-like base, this lion once capped a columnar funerary monument, serving as a guardian to protect the sancity of the grave. As often in Archaic Greek art, ornamental patterns overlie a lifelike anatomical structure: controlled lines define the flame-like locks of hair in the mane, and the fringe of hair on the rear legs has been transformed into an elegant braid.

Text from the MFA label.