Artwork Page for Heraldic Lion

Details / Information for Heraldic Lion

Heraldic Lion

900s

Vietnam

(Champa)
Medium
Beige sandstone
Measurements
Overall: 76.2 cm (30 in.)
Credit Line
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1982.146
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The Champa kingdom occupied the central and south regions of present-day Vietnam. It was a powerful rival of the Khmer in Cambodia and the Viet of northern Vietnam.

Description

The Cham adopted Indian Buddhist and Hindu religious systems, languages, and the practice of building stone temples and monasteries. The lion, which is ubiquitous on Indian monuments, was also incorporated as a protector at Cham sacred sites. In Champa, however, the roaring and rearing lion imagery is semihuman and distinctively aggressive and extroverted.

This powerful figure rearing in a combative pose was formerly in the renowned Pan-Asian Collection of Southeast Asian art assembled during the 1960s and 1970s by one major collector, Christian Humann of the renowned Rothschild banking family.
A beige sandstone sculpture depicts a lion in high relief on a vertical slab with worn edges. Standing on its hind legs, the beast raises the leg on our right and holds both thick front legs high, showing circular paws. Its large head features bulbous eyes and an open mouth. A deep, U-shaped collar lines the chest, while a textured, rope-like tail curls upward on our left.

Heraldic Lion

900s

Vietnam (Champa)

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