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Glazed brick wall relief of lion
Polychrome glazed; fired bricks
Centimetres: 122 (height), 8 (depth), 183 (width)
604-562 BC
Iron Age; Neo Babylonian; Nebuchadnezzar II; 6th century BC
Area of Origin: Iraq; Babylon; Mesopotamia
Area of Use: Excavated by the German expedition to Babylon (1899-1917); Iraq

Description: This wall decoration is one of many striding lions built into the wall of the palace’s ceremonial hall in Babylon during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (604 to 562 BC). The strength of the lion is an obvious attribute that appealed to royalty, and fighting a lion gave a king great prestige. In art, the lion sometimes represents the constellation Leo. The Asian lion became extinct in the early 1900s due to over-hunting.

Object History: Purchased from the State Museum of Berlin in 1937.

Exhibit History: Samuel J. and Ayala Zacks Gallery of Mesopotamia and Ancient Iran

Publications: 1. October 1963. ROMA Bulletin 21. fig. 132.
2. "Exhibitions Mark Golden Jubilee" ROM Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 3.
3. Robert H Dyson Jr. Winter 1963. A Babylonian Lion, Expedition. Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 14-15.
