Lioness Demon

The power, both spiritually and physically, of such a small object is hard to understand or recreate. However, the Lioness Demon, only 3 1/4 inches tall, has such a presence, its possible intention to be used as a channel for the spirit and power of the Lion is evident. Therefore, the lion could become a symbolic representation of the wearer's soul. Intended to be worn, the figure is a brute,powerful, humanoid lion. Her purpose is to channel the physical attributes, and the spiritual associations humans have found in lions. This figure, so stoic and bold, lacks any movement, but has the tension found in the potential of movement. I believe that the Lioness Demon specifically can address the idea that there is something within us that can be unleashed, like a lion's anger, or bravery, the relevance of that to the specific human wearer being relevant. The pure inspiration to achieve, or the possible reassurance of your abilities could have been a possible usage of the piece. It is essentially the constant acknowledgment and reassurance that you, the wearer, hold the power and courage within you, just as this brute lion holds within her

Here is an example of the Lioness Demon is its use.

Lion Man of the Hohlenstein Stadel

This piece is much different than the other lion pieces. This "Lion Man", or "Lion Woman" is a very mysterious piece from roughly 30,000 years ago, in 28,000 BCE. Very little is known about this piece, and very little can be interpreted. It is the oldest known animal- shaped sculpture in the world, but it is also an anthropomorphic piece, combining both human and animal form into one sculpture. This piece may have represented a diety to the people who created it, and there has been some debate over whether or not it is male or female. People have argued that it is female because it has no mane, however, in European cave paintings from the time, both male and female lions have no mane, unlike the classic African lion, which has a very large one.


When this piece was originally found, it had no head, and it appeared to simply be a representation of a human, but through further exploration, pieces were found which formed the head. It is usually photographed from the right side, since it's arm hasn't been found or attached. The proportions are also very strange. It has short arms, a long torso, and very tiny feet. Little is known about this piece, and so all we know is what is shown to us. The context has caused more confusion than certainty by making the lion's gender unclear. The best we can do at this point is guess at it's original meaning or purpose.

Lioness Devouring Boy, c 800 BC, Ivory, Iraq

The power and aggression usually associated with the lions as depicted through most of art’s history is called in the question somewhat by this ancient Iraqi relief sculpture. While the title given this ivory piece shows the most obvious interpretation, there is also some debate as to the sexual nature of the figures. The boy’s head is thrown back in what could be read as pain or as rapture, and the lioness wraps one paw around the boy’s neck in an embrace. There is a correlation between this sexualized vision of the piece and the violent one and combining the two results in a moment of passionate violence, whether the passion or the violence is the main player is up to the viewer.



Another interpretation which has been offered up is that there is a strange kind of motherliness in the lioness’ embrace, that she cradles the figure of the (dying?) boy. There is without a doubt respect for lions as creatures of power and of some stature in the piece, and the respect that that ancients had of them equals the awe. As anthropomorphic figures have also appeared in ancient art, the question of the lioness’ mother-like stance leads us to the ideas of legends and the depiction of men as part lion (such as the Pharaohs) and even women are anthropomorphized as in the case of the Egyptian Sphinx.

Dying Lion, 635 B.C., Alabaster, Iraq

Lion hunt reliefs are pivotal among Ancient Mesopotamian art works. The lion symbolizes the awesome and raw power of nature. Illustrating the lion hunt immortalizing how humanity conquers the freedom of nature and makes it subscribe to human wants and desires. Particularly, during the reign of King Ashubanipal, of the North Palace of Nineveh, this was true.






Dying Lion was carved with precise detail. The understanding of form, dimension, proportion and texture lead to an example of impressive craftmanship and rendering of the lion.






Dying Lion may be sympathetic to contemporary audiences due to its graphic depiction, but in Ancient Mesopotaomia the piece did not tug at the viewer's empathy but at the patron's pride. The piece symbolized the virte and honor of the king, and in 635 B.C. members of the North Palace were ecstatic about how their king, their nation, their culture had triumphed over the lion and all of nature.

Lions, Lions, Lions, Oh My

Lions are a reccuring animal within prehistoric art works dating as far back as 28000 B.C., which is when the oldest piece of prehistoric art work The Lion Man Hohlenstein-Stadel was dated. Lions symbolize human traits and characteristics, such as, strength, vitality, and vigor. Lions also stand for virtues such as courage and temperance. Given the title "The King of the Jungle", we already see the lion as a pivotal figure within the natural world, but through looking at the works of ancient sculptors we come to realize that lions have been seen in many unique ways. Lions will always have their place in art history due to their thematic presence and re-invention.