Bronze Medici Lion Sculpture

A 19th Century bronze sculpture of the Medici lion; the bronze lion raised on a marble plinth base decorated with bronze rosettes to the front edge.

The Medici lion is based on an original statue which dates to the Second Century, A. and after restoration by Flaminio Vacca was displayed with a copy at the Villa Medici, Rome. After 1798 the lions were displayed at the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence and copies became popular souvenirs for travellers on the Grand Tour.

This particular sculptur of the lion is unusual due to its large scale and the bronze rosettes decorating the front edge of the plinth are a rare feature.