87 12 Statues of recumbent lions 1st century CE Granodiorite or/and granite (a) H. 69, W. 48.5, L. 134 cm; (b) H. 68.5, W. 45, L. 132 cm (a) Findspot: 1644/55 Rome, Vigna Cornovaglia Purchased from the collection of Flavio Chigi, Rome, in 1728; (b) c. 1530 collection of Paolo Emilio Cesi, Rome Donated by Alessandro Albani, Rome, in 1728 Skulpturensammlung, Inv. nos. (a) Hm 16, (b) Hm 18 These two statues belong to a group of three related lion figures from Rome (inv. nos. Hm 16–18). Their Egyptian character was recognised early on. The material appears to be granodiorite with veins and speckles of rose granite, as found in Aswan. The posture and symmetrical structure are similar to Ancient Egyptian lion statues. The design of the head and the schematised rendering of the hair on the ears and mane are even more definitive. The facial mane frames the head with radiating tufts of hair, while the neck mane lies like a blanket on the chest and neck, forming a crescent shape around the shoulders, as is common in sphinxes (cat. nos. 3 b, 11 c). The way the tail rests on the right thigh is also typical. The style of the lions echoes some characteristics of the New Kingdom, but the design is significantly simplified, for example by not indicating the ribs. They can thus be dated to the first century CE. It is not clear whether the lions were made in Egypt or in Rome. In the latter case, the two Ptolemaic lion statues that today stand on the steps to the Capitol might have served as models. There are no reliable clues as to the original location of the statues. In Egypt, it was customary to position them in the entrance area of temples. The lion was regarded as the image of the Pharaoh, as a (divine) guardian, and as an animal representing the sun and the horizon. A similar use has been suggested for Rome, as there were also temples dedicated to Egyptian deities in this city. The most important was the temple of Isis on the Campus Martius (Iseum Campense), which was the source of many of the Ancient Egyptian statues discovered in Rome. The lion (a) was found around 1644 /55 on the western slope of Monte Celio, where the temple of the deified Emperor Claudius (Claudianum) once stood. The other one (b), and also another statue, are first documented around 1530, when they were located in the garden of Paolo Emilio Cesi’s villa, which was not far from the Circus of Claudius. However, the idea that they may have originated from the aforementioned ancient complexes remains pure conjecture. The lion (a) entered the Chigi Collection soon after its discovery and was purchased for Dresden from that collection in 1728. The two lions from the Villa Cesi eventually entered the Albani Collection via the Ludovisi Collection and were added as gifts to the antiquities purchased there in 1728. The ancient function of the lions as symbolic guardians was often continued at their various locations in Dresden and will remain recognisable in the future. In modern times, sculptors frequently used Pharaonic lions as models for their own depictions of lions. This is known to be the case for lion sculptures in Dresden. One pair of lions made of stone guarded the steps to the Brühl Terrace (now in the Great Garden/Grosser Garten), and another made of clay the entrance to the Great Garden (Gottlob Christian Kühn 1814). Eugen Kircheisen created two cast-iron lions, which were originally winged, for the Academy of Arts and the Exhibition Building (1887–94) on the Brühl Terrace. As early as 1801, casts of the Dresden lions were made and subsequently used as models for decorating the heating stoves in the banqueting hall at the Stadtschloss in Weimar. The Leipzig Lion Fountain (Johann Gottfried Schadow, c. 1820) is also adorned with two bronze lions based on the Dresden precedents. ML Selected Bibliography: (a) Leplat 1733: Plate 188 top; cat. Dresden 1977: 37 no. 34, fig. 84, 85; Borbein et al. 2006: 63 f. no. 85 with fig.; cat. Dresden 2011: Vol.1, 116 Plate 16, Vol.2, 1048–1050 Nos. 253, 1052–1054, 1056; cat. Dresden 2020 b: 90, 91 fig.; (b) Leplat 1733: Plate 188 bottom (?); cat. Dresden 1977: 37 no. 36; Borbein et al. 2006: 63 f. no. 85 with fig.; cat. Dresden 2011: Vol.2, 1052–1056 no. 255; cat. Dresden 2020 b: 90 with fig. Literature: Bothe 2000; Müller 1965; Rother 1994; Zschoche 1988
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