Limestone Capital with Samson in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2025

Title: Capital with Samson and an Attendant Fighting a Lion

Date: ca. 1175–1200

Geography: Made in Palencia, Spain

Culture: North Spanish

Medium: Limestone

Dimensions: Overall: 19 3/4 x 20 1/4 x 16 5/8 in. (50.2 x 51.4 x 42.2 cm)
weight: 428lb. (194.1kg)

Classification: Sculpture-Architectural

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1921

Object Number: 21.21.2

Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

This capital and the one to the left depict, in a simple, almost abstract manner, a man and an animal engaged in combat. The capitals must have supported a principal arch, perhaps the entrance to the choir of a church. Here Samson, with long hair, struggles with the lion, assisted by two men, one with a mace, another with a knife.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466335