Leseprobe

90 Statues of two lying Lions 1st cent. CE Granodiorite or granite; 69×48.5×134 cm and 68.5×45×132 cm Found in the Vigna Cornovaglia, Rome, c. 1644/1655 (Inv. no. Hm 16) Purchased from the collection of Flavio Chigi, Rome, in 1728 (Inv. no. Hm 16), resp. donated by Alessandro Albani, Rome, in 1728 (Inv. no. Hm 18) Inv. nos. Hm 16 and Hm 18 These two lion statues belong to a group of three figures that are identical in form, material, and size. The three statues (inv. nos. Hm 16, Hm 17, Hm 18) were un- earthed in Rome in the 16th and 17th century. Even at this early point in the de- velopment of modern Egyptology, they were recognized as works of ancient Egyp- tian art. This cultural classification is not only supported by the lions’ posture, the level symmetry of the body, the shape of the mane, and position of the tail; the material itself is also known to Egypt and appears to have been quarried in Aswan. The pieces likely date to the 1st century CE and were made after ancient Egyptian models, but their place of origin can no longer to be determined. As was customary in their land of origin, the lion figures probably also guarded a temple in ancient Rome, perhaps one of the local sanctuaries to Egyp- tian gods. These lion statues were often copied in the modern period. Examples of such Egyptianizing sculpture can still be seen today in Dresden’s Grosser Gar- ten.  |  ml