Early and Rare Italian Recumbent Lion c.1640

An Italian early and rare limestone recumbent Lion. c.1640. This incredible work of art is carved from one solid block of limestone. It still retains many of its original features, it’s flowing mane and huge crossed paws, and now is exquisitely worn after 350 years, but the soul of the original imagined beast shines through. Often with these early pieces, you have to ask yourself “Did the Master Stonemason responsible for this fantastic beast, actually ever see a live lion in the flesh...or did he work from drawings and stories told by those travellers, Merchants and seafarers who really had glimpsed this then mythical creature in the flesh?”.