The Lion of Bienservida (also Lion of Villarrodrigo) is an ancient sculpture depicting a lion and a human head put on a plinth. It is exhibited at the Albacete Provincial Museum.
Lion of Bienservida | |
---|---|
Spanish: León de Bienservida | |
![]() | |
Year | 4th–1st century BC |
Medium | Sandstone |
Dimensions | (0.98 x 0.81 x 0.31) m[1] |
Location | Albacete Provincial Museum, Albacete, Spain |
The piece was found in 1893 in the rural estate of Huertas de Bayona, in Villarrodrigo, in the Spanish province of Jaén.[2] It was gifted to the Museum of Albacete in 1932.[3][n. 1]
It was dated by Teresa Chapa [es] at the late 4th century BC.[4] However, despite the rough carving, Carmen Aranegui Gascó [es] sees no reason to classify the sculpture as an Iberian (Pre-Roman) artifact, rather considering the lion as art from the Roman republican period.[1] The lion is depicted sheltering a human head (bearded and with moustache) within the claws.[5] Chapa interprets the sculpture in the usual vein of the animal protecting the dead one while at the same time carrying their soul.[4]
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)