Bronze statuette Lion with a shield

Description

    Bronze statuette Lion with a shield

The lion is the king of beasts, used in the heraldry of many countries

Figurine mounted on natural stone, with a beautiful emerald green color -figure for any interior

The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour. Because historically it has been regarded as the “king of beasts”.  Lion refers also to a Judeo-Christian symbolism. The Lion of Judah stands in the coat of arms of Jerusalem. Similar looking lion can be found e.g. in the coat of arms of the Swedish royal House of Bjelbo. From there in turn derived into the coat of arms of Finland, formerly belonging to Sweden, and many others examples for similar historical reasons.

Both lions and leopards may have been among the earliest beasts to appear in heraldry. The Oxford Guide to Heraldry notes that the earliest English treatise on heraldry, a late-13th or early-14th century Anglo-Norman manuscript titled De Heraudrie.  As a general rule, English heralds tend to identify lions as rampant (upright, in profile facing dexter)

    Modern culture

Lion-headed figures and amulets were excavated in tombs in the Greek islands of Crete, Euboea, Rhodes, Paros and Chios. They are associated with the Egyptian deity Sekhmet and date to the early Iron Age between the 9th and 6th centuries BC.   The lion is featured in several of Aesop’s fables, which were written in the sixth century BC.  The Nemean lion was symbolic in ancient Greece and Rome. Represented as the constellation and zodiac sign Leo. And described in mythology, where its skin was borne by the hero Heracles.

“Lion” was the nickname of several medieval warrior-rulers with a reputation for bravery, such as the English King Richard the Lionheart. Henry the Lion, (German: Heinrich der Löwe), Duke of Saxony.  William the Lion, King of Scotland, and Robert III of Flanders was nicknamed “The Lion of Flanders” – a major Flemish national icon.

Lions are frequently depicted on coats of arms, either as a device on shields or as supporters.